Senator Susan Collins, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, today participated in a signing ceremony during which President Bush signed into law the “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act” also known as “Google for Good Government.” This legislation, which Senator Collins cosponsored, passed her committee unanimously in July. The new law will create a Google-like search engine and database to track approximately $1 trillion in federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and loans. It will ensure that a web-based, searchable, government-wide database is developed and available free-of-charge to the public.
“The American public deserves to know how their tax dollars are being spent,” said Senator Collins. “This new law, “Google for Government Spending,” will bring greater transparency to, and reduce wasteful federal spending by shining more light on where federal dollars are directed and how they are spent, and taxpayers will be able to decide for themselves whether they believe their tax dollars are being well spent.”
As Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Collins has led several investigations into government waste, fraud and abuse. Most recently, Senator Collins chaired a hearing of her committee that examined the mounting evidence of fraudulent claims, wasteful spending, and ineffective management in the FEMA disaster assistance programs triggered by Hurricane Katrina.
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