The American Spectator

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(Page 7 of 14)

NAMING NAMES br> Re: Chris Edwards's Government Waste Disclosure : /p> p>Mr. Edwards article on the proposal by Sen. Coburn is much needed publicity for a good idea. I would only add that, unless the database proposed by Sen. Coburn identifies the Senator and/or Congressman proposing and/or sponsoring the spending item, it will have accomplished little. Individual spending items, such as earmarks, will never be controlled unless they can be EASILY tied to individual Congressmen. That is the only kind of sunshine that will clean out that dark corner of legislative excess. br> -- Ken Shreve /p> p> This paragraph presents a problem: br> /p>

One shortcoming of existing databases is that they often don't show the ultimate recipients of subsidies. They may show that a city received federal money for "community development," but not reveal which private groups ultimately received the cash. Coburn's legislation would fix this problem and create a simpler and more comprehensive system.

br> Here's one way we can reveal who the ultimate recipients for federal largess are:

Since the receipt of such large amounts of cash requires some form of application and background check (one hopes), recipient candidates should be signing a confidentiality waiver regarding the recipient's name. Whoever signs for the money is open to disclosure. Nixing certain details like SS numbers being one of a few exceptions for "privacy." If a city/municipality or a private recipient wants the cash to dole out, they have to have the "applicants" fill out waivers to get the dough.

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