[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[September 26, 2006]
[Pages 1698-1700]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks on Signing the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency
Act of 2006
September 26, 2006
The President. Thank you, and sit down. Please be seated, except for
you all. [Laughter] Welcome. Every April, Americans sit down and fill
out their tax returns, and they find out how much of their hard-earned
money is coming here to Washington. Once the tax dollars arrive here,
most Americans have little idea of where the money goes, and today our
Government is taking steps to change that. We believed that the more we
inform our American citizens, the better our Government will be.
And so in a few moments, I'll sign the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. This bill is going to
create a web site that will list the Federal Government's grants and
contracts. It's going to be a web site that the average citizen can
access and use. It will allow Americans to log onto the Internet just to
see how your money is being spent. This bill will increase
accountability and reduce incentives for wasteful spending. I am proud
to sign it into law, and I am proud to be with members of both political
parties who worked hard to get this bill to my desk.
This has been a good effort by concerned Members of the House and
the Senate to say to the American people, ``We want to earn your trust;
when we spend your money, we want you to be able to watch us.''
[[Page 1699]]
I want to thank Rob Portman, who is
in my Cabinet--he's the Director of the OMB--and my good friend
Clay Johnson--is the Deputy Director--for
insisting on accountability when it comes to taxpayers' money. I know
this has been a particular project--a fond project of Clay, and I'm glad
that Members of Congress got it here.
I want to thank Susan Collins, who is
the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee. I want to thank the bill sponsors, Tom Coburn from Oklahoma, Tom Carper
from Delaware, and Barack Obama from Illinois.
I appreciate Roy Blunt, who is the majority
whip. He's a sponsor of the House companion bill. I also want to thank
Tom Davis, who is the chairman of the
Government Reform Committee, as well as cosponsors of the bill, Jeb
Hensarling and Randy Kuhl.
You know, we spend a lot of time and a lot of effort collecting your
money, and we should show the same amount of effort in reporting how we
spend it. Every year, the Federal Government issues more than $400
billion in grants and more than $300 billion in contracts to
corporations, associations, and State and local governments. Taxpayers
have a right to know where that money is going, and you have a right to
know whether or not you're getting value for your money.
Under Clay's leadership, we launched a
new system for measuring how Federal programs are doing. In other words,
Federal programs say, ``We want to achieve this result,'' we're trying
to figure out whether or not they're meeting the results. In other
words, it makes sense for all of us in Washington, DC, to say, ``We're a
results-oriented Government.'' I know Henry Waxman believes that. [Laughter] Thank you for coming. Proud
you're here, sir. I was just praising the bipartisan support that this
bill has received, and you're confirmation of that bipartisan support.
[Laughter] Thank you, appreciate you coming.
And so we've got--we're measuring, and we put a web site out called
expectmore.gov. In other words, people can go onto that web site and
determine whether or not the results are being met for programs.
And now Congress has come forth with an additional sense of
accountability here in Washington, additional way for taxpayers to
figure out whether or not we're being wise with your money. And the
Federal Funding Accountability Act--Accountability and Transparency Act
will create a new web site that will list Government grants and
contracts greater than $25,000. We'll list all grants except for those
above 25,000--except for those that must remain classified for national
security reasons.
The web site will allow our citizens to go online, type in the name
of any company, association, or State or locality, and find out exactly
what grants and contracts they've been awarded. It will allow citizens
to call up the name and location of entities receiving Federal funds and
will provide them with the purpose of the funding, the amount of money
provided, the agency providing the funding, and other relevant
information.
By allowing Americans to Google their tax dollars, this new law will
help taxpayers demand greater fiscal discipline. In other words, we're
arming our fellow citizens with information that will enable them to
demand we do a better job--a better job in the executive branch and
better job in the legislative branch.
Information on earmarks will no longer be hidden deep in the pages
of a Federal budget bill--will be but just a few clicks away. This
legislation will give the American people a new tool to hold their
Government accountable for spending decisions. When those decisions are
made in broad daylight, they will be wiser and they will be more
restrained. This is a good piece of legislation, and I congratulate the
Members here.
[[Page 1700]]
Recently, the House made an important rule change that will also
improve transparency in the legislative process. Under the rule change,
the sponsor of each project will now be disclosed before the bills come
to a vote. This is a wise change. It will shine the light on earmarks.
It's going to help the American taxpayers know whether or not they're
getting their money's worth here in Washington.
Rule change, along with the bill I'll sign today, are important
steps, but there's more to be done. This President needs a line-item
veto. Here's the problem: I get a big bill, an important bill to my
desk, and in that bill, there may be some bad spending items, some kind
of last minute cram-ins, or items that may not have seen the full light
of day during the legislative process. I then either have to accept
those or veto a good bill. And there's a better way forward, at least
the House thought there was a better way forward in the legislative
process, and that's the line-item veto.
Under the proposal, the President can approve spending that is
necessary, redline spending that is not, and send the wasteful and
unnecessary spending back to the Congress for an up-or-down vote. I
think this is an important part of making sure we have accountability
here in Washington, DC.
I want to thank the House for passing the bill. I would hope the
Senate would take it up. We can work together to inspire confidence in
the appropriations process here in Washington. And it's in the interest
of both political parties to do so, and it's in the interest of both
branches of Government to do so.
Right now, however, I have the honor of signing this new bill. It's
a bill that empowers the American taxpayer, the American citizen. And we
believe that the more transparency there is in the system, the better
the system functions on behalf of the American people.
Again, I thank the Members. It's my honor now to sign the Federal
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.
[At this point, the President signed the bill.]
The President. All right, dismissed.
Note: The President spoke at 9:47 a.m. in Room 350 of the Dwight D.
Eisenhower Executive Office Building. S. 2590, approved September 26,
was assigned Public Law No. 109-282.