Politics

Speaker Pelosi Directs Statement of Disbursements Be Posted Online

By Karina

As part of Speaker Pelosi’s ongoing efforts to increase transparency and accountability in the House of Representatives, the Speaker’s office and the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) have been working on making the Statement of Disbursements - which documents all expenditures Congressional, Committee, Leadership, and administrative offices make - available online. Today, the Speaker sent the following letter to the CAO directing his office to begin posting the Statement of Disbursements online as soon as possible:

June 3, 2009

The Honorable Dan Beard
Chief Administrative Officer
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20015

Dear Mr. Beard:

I am directing that the Chief Administrative Officer?s office begin to publish the quarterly Statement of Disbursements for the House of Representatives in an online format at the earliest date. The House is making every effort to operate in a transparent manner and online publication of these reports will expand accountability to taxpayers and the press.

For well over 100 years the United States House of Representatives has compiled and published, on a quarterly basis, a public Statement of Disbursements documenting the expenditures of each Congressional, Committee, Leadership, and administrative office. This publication provides an accurate accounting of the manner in which the House and its Members and officers spend all of the funds appropriated for the conduct of official business.

In the past, this publication has been made available in the Legislative Resource Center or by purchase from the United States Government Printing Office. However, this means for publishing material does not allow all interested parties to review the information contained in the reports. Consistent with my goal to increase transparency and ensure greater accountability to the public, please take all steps necessary to ensure that the quarterly Statement of Disbursements be made available online free of charge to the public and on a suitable House website.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

best regards,

NANCY PELOSI
Speaker of the House

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 03, 2009 (boomark / email).