Hey, Senator "Waste Ted" Stevens...Show Me the Money!

BizzyBlog has a post on the latest antics from the Senior Senator from Alaska. Stevens is throwing sand into the machinery; attempting to stall the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2590) by putting a secret hold on it. The bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to make information on federal contracts and grants publicly accessible through a searchable website.

Show Me the Money!

Update: Bill's Cost Troubled Me, Pork King Says and Here's More on the "Secret Hold" Exposure

Update 2: This helps to contrast government vs. private costs:

The Congressional Budget Office calculates (pdf) that it would take $15 million dollars to create and maintain the database of online searchable database of government grants and contracts for five years.

But Ellen Miller of The Sunlight Foundation says today they've commissioned the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit OMB Watch to do the exact same thing. The cost? $234,713 for three years.

So is Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) vindicated for having alleged cost concerns? And, more importantly, does OMB Watch have an Alaskan bridge-building division?