10 May 2017•Update: 10 May 2017
By Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO
The United States Treasury unveiled an upgraded website on Tuesday that publicly details all federal government spending categories for the first time ever.
The website, Beta.USAspending.gov, pulls together about 400 data sets from over 100 federal agencies in breaking down government spending, which amounted to about $3.85 trillion in 2016. The launch completes a project, initiated in 2014, to improve the data available on the Treasury’s website.
The agency is promoting the website as a way for U.S. taxpayers to see how their money is spent.
“The new site provides taxpayers with the ability to track nearly $4 trillion in government spending from Washington, D.C. directly into their communities and cities,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was appointed to his position earlier this year by President Donald Trump, in a statement.
Although the upgrade began during former President Barack Obama’s second term, Mnuchin highlighted that the new website is very much in line with Trump’s White House.
“Furthermore, greater access to data will drive better decision making and strengthen accountability and transparency – qualities central to the Administration’s focus on a more innovative and effective government,” Mnuchin continued.
The website immediately displays, by way of example, that the majority of spending goes to just three categories: social security, national and Medicare. About 23 percent of federal spending goes toward social security, while national defense and Medicare each receive 14.9 percent of all taxpayer money.
