Taxpayers for Common Sense signed onto a coalition letter applauding the OMB’s act of transparency in creating a public website featuring appropriation apportionment documents.

Our organizations, which span the ideological spectrum and care deeply about strengthening Congress’s power of the purse, applaud the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for creating a public website featuring all documents apportioning an appropriation for the current fiscal year. Apportionments are a powerful tool that presidents, through OMB, use to exercise control over agencies across the federal government and manage federal spending. OMB’s new apportionment website provides crucial insight into how the executive branch is using that power—ensuring Congress and the public have the information they need to oversee and review executive branch stewardship of precious taxpayer funds.

OMB’s apportionment website is available here: https://apportionment-public.max.gov.

The website marks an important step forward for government transparency and accountability, and we encourage ongoing improvements, such as modest changes that would make it easier for Congress and the public to determine when and where new documents have been added.

Further action is needed to make this important transparency permanent. The requirement to post apportionment documents on this public website currently expires at the end of the fiscal year. That is why our organizations urge Congress to make this transparency requirement permanent in any final FY 2023 appropriations legislation. We applaud the House Appropriations Committee for including a provision to make this requirement permanent in the FY 2023 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill it recently approved.

Demand Progress
FreedomWorks
National Taxpayers Union
Project on Government Oversight
Protect Democracy
R Street Institute
Taxpayers for Common Sense