This bill aims to make federal spending easier to understand. It would require every federal agency to send basic details with each payment they make through the Treasury’s payment system—what the payment is for, which account it comes from, and the type of activity—so those details can be tracked and managed better. Agencies must review this information at least once a year and confirm it is accurate, and Treasury officials must work with them to improve the payment system. Most payment details must be posted on a public federal spending website within 30 days, so people can see how money is being used.

There is an exception for sensitive operations. If sharing details would harm a sensitive activity, the agency can withhold them. But agencies still have to provide summary totals for those payments in a special budget annex starting with the first budget request after this becomes law.

Key points

• Who is affected: Federal agencies, the Treasury, and the public who use the spending website.
• What changes: Agencies must attach a short purpose, account, and activity type to each payment; check and confirm the data yearly; and make most payment details public online.
• When: Payment details go online within 30 days of certification; data checks happen at least once each fiscal year; sensitive-payment summaries begin with the first budget request after enactment.