Rob Portman: “I wish to speak as if in morning business. The DATA Act Mr. President, I was not able to be here earlier on the Senate…”

“I wish to speak as if in morning business. The DATA Act Mr. President, I was not able to be here earlier on the Senate floor when my colleague Senator Warner got unanimous consent to pass the DATA Act. This is the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, something we have been working on over the last couple of years. It is a good bill, and it is about good government and I am glad we were able to pass it this afternoon in the Senate. I now hope it will go to the House for passage and get to the President's desk, because it will help to give all the taxpayers a better view into our government. Specifically, it improves Federal financial transparency and data quality, both of which are going to help identify and illuminate the ways we spend--certainly something we should be focused on with the huge deficits and all the pressure we are facing. It will also ease the compliance burden with the people working in the Federal Government and recipients of Federal funds. At the same time it improves the data that they send to the Federal Government. It is a win/win for the taxpayer, for the government, at getting at the issue of waste, fraud, and abuse. It is an issue that transcends party lines. I want to thank my friend Senator Coburn because he has been a leader in the Governmental Affairs Committee and also the chairman of the committee, Senator Tom Carper. Without their help, Senator Warner and I would not have been able to get this bill to the floor today.…”