On July 28, 2006 the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs approved S. 2590. The bill S. 2590 creates a free Internet database and search engine of all federal grants, contracts, earmarks and loans for public disclosure. Any person, at any time can investigate how the government is spending OUR money.

Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), who introduced the bill, said,

“Passing this bill will help end the culture of secrecy in Washington and restore some measure of the public's confidence in government… Technology has made it possible, like never before, to fulfill our founders' vision of enabling all citizens to understand our nation's finances, investigate abuses and hold elected officials accountable.”

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act bill reported that this database would cost $15 million over the next 5 years. Quite frankly, as a conservative, I am extremely impressed with this common sense approach to government. The people of the United States have a responsibility to keep the government accountable. This is one way I see accountability taking form in the Information Generation. But why are we not hearing more about the responsible actions the government chooses to take? Could it be, just maybe, the overwhelming liberal media in an election year?

Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois), a co-sponsor of the bill, said,

“All Americans deserve to know where their money is being spent. 'Googling' the government will not only help expose and eliminate waste, but dispel misconceptions about the scope of our commitments. Many Americans, for example, assume we are spending a large percentage of our budget on foreign assistance when we are not. Whether you're on the left or right, there is no worthy argument against transparency.”

This bill should have passed unanimously about a month ago, but a “Secret Senator” has had a hold on the bill. A CNN article revealed that the holder is Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Stevens has been the subject of much heated controversy in the instance of the “Bridge to Nowhere.” The “Bridge to Nowhere” is a fiscal conservative’s nightmare. The actual proposed bill was to connect the mainland of Alaska to the tiny town of Gravina Island. Just a side note, Gravina Island already has a sufficient ferrying system. Oh and by the way, Gravina Island has 50 people, and the bridge would have cost $223,000,000. Simply astonishing. Stevens's recent record of fiscal discipline is about as horrid as Bill Clinton’s past record of neglecting his wife.

Please Senator Stevens, if you have a problem with fiscal discipline, please address it. If not, please just play your roll as a Senator and do what is obviously best for the United States of America. That is what the people of Alaska E-L-E-C-T-E-D you to do. If you continue this path of fiscal idiocy, maybe the people of the Great State of Alaska will not be E-L-E-C-T-I-N-G you again, just like Governor Murkowski. Senator Stevens, you should reconsider you notion of pork or you'll be roasted on the open flames of a Bloggers BBQ!