Some Republican congressmen held an unusual press conference Wednesday.

The people the lawmakers meant to thank didn't bother to show up. They got a hand anyway.

"I want to commend all the bloggers out there," said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. Without them, he said, Congress' two recent spending reforms would never have happened.

Indeed, reformers like Flake are hopeful that this last week represents a watershed moment: the point when the power of the Internet was finally harnessed to reign in wasteful federal spending.

Shining A Bright Light

The reforms aim to make federal spending more transparent by putting all the data on the Web, thereby empowering outsiders to pressure Congress.

Specifically, Congress passed two reforms last week.

One is a bill that directs the federal government to create a searchable, online database — like Google — of all federal grants, contracts and loans and the lawmakers who sponsored them.

It passed the House by voice vote Wednesday. President Bush is expected to sign it soon.

The second is a House rules change that would require all spending earmarks in a bill to be clearly disclosed along with the lawmaker who sponsored them before the House can vote on it.

That passed the House, 245-171, Thursday evening. Flake called it a "modest but meaningful first step."

Democrats like Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., mocked it, calling the reform a "fig leaf."

Earmarks are spending designated for a specific project. They are usually requested by lawmakers to benefit a local concern in their district.

Many are added late in the bill-writing process and are subject to little scrutiny. They've long been the bane of budget hawks and small government fans.

"The American people's money should be spent in full view so every single taxpayer can see where the money is being spent," said Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz.

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., agreed, adding that most earmarks "don't pass the laugh test."

They survive because lawmakers often vote for each other's projects to protect their own or to pass broader legislation.

Shadegg called earmarks a "gateway drug" because once you do it the first time, it becomes easier to do the next time and soon lawmakers are "addicted."

Certainly the number of earmarks has exploded in recent years. Citizens Against Government Waste has identified 9,963 items it called "pork" costing $29 billion in fiscal 2006 spending bills.

The database bill, sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., requires the federal Office of Management and Budget to create the search engine by 2008 to include earmarks. The data would go back 10 years. The system would cost at least $15 million over a decade to maintain.

Some federal spending databases already exist, but they are limited in scope and not user friendly. Even lawmakers complain they offer little help.

"If we as senators can't get this information, you can be sure the American people know even less," Obama said, in testimony for his bill.

Together the reforms are part of an effort to make it easier to pressure and even shame lawmakers who abuse the budget process. The data are expected to be used mainly by watchdog groups, nonprofits and ordinary bloggers.

"Sunlight is the best disinfectant," said Annie Patnaude, spokeswoman for Americans for Prosperity, one of the leading groups pushing for the reforms.

Secret Hold On Transparency

The bloggers have already proved their mettle. The spending database bill was stalled in the Senate for weeks by a secret hold — a parliamentary maneuver that prevents a bill from being voted on.

The online "citizen journalists" got the hold lifted by deducing through process of elimination that Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was the culprit. Stevens is an unabashed defender of bringing home the bacon to his district, including the infamous "bridge to nowhere."

After he was exposed, Stevens backed down. The bill passed the Senate two weeks ago. The House soon followed.

"Bloggers were vital to the success of this," said Coburn spokesman John Hart.