On Nov. 29, OMB Watch launched the third upgrade of its FedSpending.org website, which allows the public to search federal spending data, since the site was created a year ago. The new version includes approximately $16.8 trillion in spending data, including annual spending from FY 2000 through FY 2006 for both contracts and federal assistance, with partial contracts data for FY 2007. Major feature upgrades of this version include mapping, expandable summary tables and a more powerful "SuperSearch." During the site's first year, users performed approximately five million searches, clearly demonstrating the demand for greater transparency of federal spending. Many users offered suggestions for improvements or requests for changes and new features, which OMB Watch has tried to prioritize and consider. OMB Watch made two previous upgrades, each bringing FedSpending.org more current data and site improvements. Previous enhancements include improved data interface, increased search options, and improved accessibility for people with disabilities. The new mapping feature, which can be accessed either through the map icon that appears in the upper right-hand corner of all search results or through level of detail options, allows users to view the geographic distribution of federal spending. Users can see a state-by-state breakdown of spending at the national level or drill down into an individual state to view the breakdown of congressional district spending. Below each map are tables with the mapped information listed on the left side and unmappable information listed on the right side. Unfortunately, FedSpending.org can only map domestic spending locations, so information on spending outside the U.S. or data with quality problems that make it impossible to assign the spending to a specific location are unmappable at this time. Another significant improvement is the capability for FedSpending.org users to expand the tables within the "summary" view — such as the Top 5 Products and Services or Top 5 Funding Agencies. Now, for any search result, users can simply click on a link to expand these tables to list all of the results of these breakdowns. Previously, it would have been necessary for users to download or copy more detailed data from the site and calculate these results themselves. The expandable tables represent a real time saving for users. The final new feature of FedSpending.org 3.0 is the introduction of a SuperSearch on both the contracts and assistance spending data. OMB Watch has consolidated and organized the search options previously separated into advanced search forms based on recipient, location and funding agency. The SuperSearch makes searching the spending data more versatile and powerful, as it offers the ability to combine a greater variety of search fields and more easily find the specific information users are looking for on the site. The FedSpending.org 3.0 upgrade includes some of the biggest steps forward for the site since its creation and will make it easier for users to get better answers to their questions on federal spending. OMB Watch intends to continue to improve and expand the functions of FedSpending.org, with plans to link the spending information with other databases such census population estimates and campaign finance reports.