COST Act

The Cost Openness and Spending Transparency (COST) Act aims to increase government accountability by requiring every project, program, or activity supported with federal funds to include a clear "price tag." Under this proposal, any public document or press release related to a federally funded project would have to disclose the specific dollar amount of taxpayer money used and the percentage of the project's total budget that those funds represent.

If enacted, the bill would expand existing transparency requirements—which currently apply only to a few specific departments like Health and Human Services—to all federal agencies. To ensure compliance, the legislation would grant the Office of Management and Budget the authority to withhold a portion of grant funding from any recipient that fails to disclose these costs. The goal is to provide citizens with easy access to information about how their tax dollars are being spent on various initiatives, ranging from scientific research to infrastructure projects.