HOUSE SPEAKER-DESIGNATE Nancy Pelosi has reportedly said she will create a new panel to examine President Bush’s intelligence budget to ensure that taxpayer funds are being spent wisely. This coincides with another intelligence-related item on her to-do list, which is to attempt to make intelligence decisions more transparent. In essence, Pelosi is angling to pork-bust the intelligence community.
Porkbusting has gained considerable momentum lately. Consider that this past fall President Bush signed into law the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, more popularly known as the Porkbusters bill. Once implemented by the Office of Management and Budget it will allow the public access to government grants and contract awards over $25,000. A less widely known public accountability effort was launched this past February. The ExpectMore.gov website is also run by the OMB and it publishes performance ratings of hundreds of federally-financed programs. Both of these efforts were attempts to democratize access to, and understanding of, federal budget efforts–as well as a way to hold program administrators and legislators accountable for their actions. Both of these attempts at openness exclude access to intelligence-related programs.
