THOMPSON VOTES TO PASS BIPARTISAN BILL TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING
DATA Act Allows Taxpayers to More Effectively Track How and Where Their Money is Spent
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) today voted to pass H.R. 2061, the Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act of 2013. This bill requires information on all federal spending to be posted to a single, comprehensive and searchable website, USASpending.gov. The DATA Act also limits federal agency travel expenses to 70 percent of their Fiscal Year 2010 travel costs, limits the allowable costs of agency conferences and requires extensive new reporting and public disclosure of conference costs and activities.
“Taxpayers deserve to know their money is being spent wisely and effectively on smart investments that create jobs, grow our economy and move our country forward,” said Thompson. “This legislation will increase transparency, help make sure taxpayers are getting the most bang for their buck, and allow us to hold agencies and individuals accountable for wasteful spending and lavish junkets funded by hard-earned tax dollars.”
In 2012, the General Services Administration (GSA) held a lavish $823,000 conference in Las Vegas and former GSA executive Jeffrey E. Neely spent $40,000 on a trip he and his wife took to Napa. The extensive new reporting and public disclosure of conference costs and activities would help prevent these kinds of abuses from occurring in the future.
In addition, the bill expands the role of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board that was created by the 2010 stimulus law to oversee stimulus spending. The DATA Act will require the board to help make sure tax dollars are being spent wisely and effectively by detecting waste and fraud at all levels of federal spending.
H.R. 2061 passed the House and will now go the Senate for consideration.
Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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