Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Senator who put 'secret hold' on bill to open federal records is a secret, too

Aug. 23, 2006, 11:46PM
Senator who put 'secret hold' on bill to open federal records is a secret, too

By REBECCA CARR
Cox News Service

WASHINGTON — In an ironic twist, legislation that would open up the murky world of government contracting to public scrutiny has been derailed by a secret parliamentary maneuver.

An unidentified senator placed a "secret hold" on legislation introduced by Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., that would create a searchable database of government contracts, grants, insurance, loans and financial assistance, worth $2.5 trillion last year. The database would bring transparency to federal spending and be as simple to use as conducting a Google search.

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