Subcontractor Information Is Available Online Information about subcontracts is now publicly available on the USASpending.gov website. Publication of the data is required by the 2006 Transparency Act, which also requires some contractors to report top executives’ compensation. Posting of subcontract information has been delayed while the Office of Management and Budget worked out technical issues. The site also shows data on sub-awards under federal grants. The data will allow the public to “follow the money” doled out by the federal government. In addition to showing the communities where federal dollars are being spent, the information will make it easier to identify companies serving as fronts or pass-throughs. Public release of the information is “another important step toward making government more open and accountable to the American people,” OMB director Jack Lew wrote in a blog post. President Obama was one of the sponsors of the Transparency Act when he was a senator. Currently USASpending.gov shows first-tier subcontracts on prime awards valued at more than $550,000. Start next March data will be available about subcontracts on prime awards of $25,000 or more. Classified contracts are exempt from the reporting requirements. Prime contractors are required to report names of their subcontractors and amounts awarded. As part of the Obama administration commitment to transparency, the Federal Acquisition Regulation councils are now considering how to post the full text of contracts online while protecting proprietary information. In a request for comment last spring, the councils said they “anticipate that, in the future, a requirement to post on-line the text of contracts and task and delivery orders will be instituted.” (SAA, 5/28)