Editorials

Transparency in government in gaining traction in state agencies in Texas and an effort is under way to make it a strong movement at the federal level.

At least part of the credit for the advance of the transparency in government philosophy goes to Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Susan Combs who has prioritized the effort in that office from the beginning of her tenure.

"You pay for your government, and you deserve to know how it spends your money," Combs said.

Her words have been backed by actions. On day three of her tenure in the office, the agency's expenditures were published online "down to the pencils." Other agencies' expenditure data followed in short order.

Building on those efforts, the comptroller's office created Where the Money Goes, an online database for viewing state agency spending. Expenditures in the database are searchable by vendor name, expenditure category or agency name.

Taxpayers can use this kind of easy access to the information and numbers that make their public institutions tick, to learn about their government, question decisions, root out inefficiencies and hold officials accountable for the way tax dollars are spent, Combs explained.

Other Texas agencies have followed this lead. Working together, state offices are standardizing agency spending reports and focusing on ideas for providing more detailed, consistent pictures of state expenditures in the future.

Last week, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas joined an effort to strengthen transparency and accountability in federal spending by endorsing new proposals with that objective from the Senate Republican Fiscal Reform Working Group.

"This much is clear - Congress must become better stewards of taxpayer dollars," Cornyn said. "Taxpayers in Texas, and across the country, deserve to see for themselves exactly how and where their tax dollars are being spent by elected officials in Washington."

The working group was formed in January by Republican leader Mitch McConnell in the wake of growing public concern over the earmark appropriations process and the failure of Senate Democrats to address it.

In its new report, the working group recommended provisions making it easier to strip inappropriate earmarks, direct all savings of stripped earmarks to deficit reduction, ensure all proposed earmarks are transparent and available for public review prior to a vote and increase congressional oversight of executive branch earmarks.

Combs, in a news release, said Cornyn soon will introduce the Federal Spending and Taxpayer Accessibility Act of 2008, modeled in part on the efforts of her office. His legislation would expand upon the national database that allows taxpayers to search for federal contracts and grants.

Technology, and the Web in particular, has changed the expectations for consumer service and government transparency at all levels, Combs observed. The money and time required to print reports no longer can be justified in a computer and Internet-based society, she added.

"By demystifying state spending and providing easy access to those numbers, we ensure greater accountability to the public," Combs declared.

Creating more public awareness of the accessibility of these records is essential for the effort to truly succeed.

It still won't work very well unless enough concerned individuals learn how to access this information and let officials know quite clearly if they think something is out of line.

Complaints are often heard about Washington being out of touch with the people. The best way to improve that is for people to exercise their right to know how their government's business is being conducted and make certain elected representatives hear what they think.

Kudos to Combs and Cornyn and others who work to improve government transparency and accountability but people must not neglect their responsibility in monitoring the performance of elected officials and representatives.

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