Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., called today "a watershed moment for accountability in government" after the Office of Management and Budget launched www.USASpending.gov, an online searchable federal spending database.

"Today’s an important day for all of us who believe sunshine is the best disinfectant," said Davis, chief cosponsor of Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, which required OMB to create the searchable website by Jan. 1, 2008.

"We included an ambitious timeframe; we knew it would be difficult," Davis said. "I congratulate all of those who rose to the occasion and met this challenge" two weeks ahead of schedule.

Before passage of the Transparency Act and the creation of USASpending.gov, the lack of a central database of federal grantees and contractors made it difficult to systematically review federal spending.

"Not anymore," according to Rep. Davis. "This new website will provide a transparent system for reviewing these expenditures so Congress and, more importantly, the American public have the information they need to make sure our government is working for the taxpayers."

The federal government awards approximately $300 billion in grants a year to roughly 30,000 different organizations, and about 1 million contracts exceed the $25,000 reporting threshold called for in the Transparency Act.

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