Tonight's passage of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2950) is being hailed by bloggers on the left and right, giving Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist a huge boost among a constituency that will play an important role in the 2008 presidential election.

Shortly after the bill won unanimous approval, Frist broke the news on his VOLPAC blog:

Tonight I’m proud to report that the Senate unanimously passed S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.

The passage of this legislation is a triumph for transparency in government, for fiscal discipline, and for the bipartisan citizen journalism of the blogosphere.

Without the efforts of ordinary Americans empowered by the Internet, including many hardworking members of the iFrist Volunteers, this legislation might easily have been successfully obstructed. Instead, the unprecedented synergy between online grassroots activists and Senate leadership provides a new model for participatory democracy in action.

I look forward to reconciling S. 2590 with its counterpart in the House and delivering this deserving legislation to the desk of President Bush for his signature.

Frist was wise to move the bill through the Senate during its first week back in action. As part of the coalition that supported bill, I sensed urgency among bloggers of all political stripes with time winding down on the legislative calendar.

The legislation, sponsored by Senators Tom Coburn (R.-Okla.) and Barack Obama (D.-Ill.), now heads to the House, where a similar bill (H.R. 5060) already resides. That bill, however, has a glaring omission: it exempts federal contracts from the database. That's why bloggers need to urge House leadership (Speaker Denny Hastert, Majority Leader John Boehner and Whip Roy Blunt) and Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis and ranking Democrat Henry Waxman to act quickly on S. 2950.

Frist, meanwhile, can bask in the good news. With a run for President most certainly in his future, his embrace of the blogosphere -- and his action on an issue near and dear to rival Sen. John McCain -- won't soon be forgotten.

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UPDATE -- 10:45 a.m.: Senators Coburn and Obama just issued a joint press release hailing passage of the bill.

Senate Passes Coburn-Obama Bill to Create Internet Database of Federal Spending

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Barack Obama (D-IL) today hailed the Senate’s passage of the “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act,” a bill that will create a Google-like search engine and database to track approximately $1 trillion in federal grants, contracts, earmarks and loans.

“Every American has the right to know how their government spends their money, and then to hold elected officials accountable for those decisions. I applaud my colleagues for unanimously supporting a bill that will aid the American people in that effort,” Dr. Coburn said. “This bill is a small but significant step toward changing the culture in Washington. Only by fostering a culture of openness, transparency and accountability will Congress come together to address the mounting fiscal challenges that threaten our future prosperity.”

“The group that deserves credit for passing this bill, however, is not Congress, but the army of bloggers and concerned citizens who told Congress that transparency is a just demand for all citizens, not a special privilege for political insiders. Their remarkable effort demonstrates that our system of government does work when the people take the reins of government and demand change,” Dr. Coburn said.

“By helping to lift the veil of secrecy in Washington, this database will help make us better legislators, reporters better journalists, and voters more active citizens,” Obama said. “It’s both unusual and encouraging to see interest groups and bloggers on the left and the right come together to achieve results. This powerful grassroots alliance shows that at the end of the day, Americans want to see Congress work together to get something done and not continue to engage in the partisan gridlock that so often brings Capitol Hill to a grinding halt.”

More than 100 organizations ranging from Americans for Prosperity and Taxpayers for Common Sense to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Greenpeace have endorsed S. 2590.

Dozens of editorials boards across the country including the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times and The Oklahoman have also endorsed S. 2590.

Forty-three Senators co-sponsored S. 2590 including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Tom Carper (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Joe Lieberman (D-CT), John McCain (R-AZ), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), John Kerry (D-MA), John Cornyn (R-TX) and others.

We're also hearing the House is likely to take up S. 2590 with only minor changes. That's good news, but until this bill has the President's signature on it, no one should rest easy.