Blackout of Federal Spending Data Hides Critical Information from Public
Washington, D.C. — Following reports that the Trump administration has taken down the Office of Management and Budget’s website detailing the apportionment of congressionally-appropriated funds, Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert issued the following statement:
“The Trump administration is trashing transparency again — this time by hiding legally-required information from the public about how the government spends its money. The apportionments database is a critical tool to hold the government accountable, which is why Congress made it a requirement to disclose this information to the public in the first place.
“The Trump administration has already made clear that it rejects Congress’ power of the purse and believes laws surrounding government expenditures are optional. We’ve seen this through illegal impoundments, spending freezes, dissolution of agencies, mass firings, and more. Now we see it in the White House declining to even make its spending information public.
“The apportionment database must be immediately put back online.”