SAN FRANCISCO, April 15, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Research Data Group applauds the bi-partisan efforts of the Senate in passing DATA Act (Digital Accountability & Transparency Act). After unanimously passing the Senate in a vote last week, the legislation will return to the House or Representatives where it was originally passed 388-1 in November of 2013.

Jonathan Elliott, Research Data Group's COO, made the following statement:

"Research Data Group would like to thank the DATA Act's congressional sponsors for being champions of this important legislation. The DATA Act will usher in a new era of transparency for the U.S. government's spending information and allow for 21st century data-analysis to be utilized in helping our country become a more perfect union.

Until now, government spending data has been locked away in archaic form types and printed materials. These previously un-searchable documents were only available to a limited few. Unleashing the power of structured data and freeing this information to be properly searched and analyzed, the public and private sector can work together to eliminate wasteful spending and identify new opportunities for job creation in the United States."

The DATA Act was simultaneously introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2061) and Senate (S. 994) on May 21, 2013, will open the government's spending information and set the stage for meaningful reform. By creating documents with standardized, searchable data--freely accessible to all--the DATA Act is the first step in helping taxpayers and citizens to track where their dollars are actually going.

For more information about the bill, please visit the congress.gov.