Facing an uncertain future in the Senate, the recently passed House version of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) didn’t exactly get a ringing endorsement from the Obama administration yesterday. Testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Controller Danny Werfel expressed concern over certain provisions, while noting “the president and the administration are in complete agreement with the act’s objectives.”

We certainly hope that means any reservations can be ironed out. The DATA Act is the kind of transformative transparency legislation that makes good governance groups like CREW salivate. It would allow the public and watchdog organizations far greater ease in tracking government spending by requiring uniform online reporting of all federal agency spending, thereby creating a valuable tool in identifying waste, fraud and abuse.

The concerns expressed by Controller Werfel seem innocuous enough. Mr. Werfel said the administration still has questions about the new presidentially appointed commission that would oversee agency efforts and the impact of new reporting requirements on state and local governments, universities and businesses. While it’s unclear from the hearing how large an obstacle these concerns are, CREW agrees with Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), who noted why the DATA Act is sorely needed. While the administration has done an excellent job in making federal spending under the 2009 Recovery Act a model, Rep. Issa said such transparency has yet to spread throughout federal agencies because “officials have a lethargic view toward making this transition.”

The DATA Act is an important bill that deserves passage. Doing so will be a significant step towards creating a federal government that is committed to holding itself accountable, accessible and transparent. We hope the reservations expressed at yesterday’s hearing merely signals further cooperation in seeing this valuable legislation become law.