Every dollar figure on PB Spending Watch should lead back to a public government record that you can check yourself. This page sets out where the numbers come from, how they are dated and checked, how older articles are kept current, and what happens when something is wrong.
Who Writes Here
Every article is published under one byline: the PB Spending Watch editors. The same standards apply to each piece, whether it is a news story, an earmark explainer or a shutdown tracker. A shared byline means the editors as a group are responsible for what appears, and no single name gets to set a different standard.
Official Sources Come First
Spending figures come from official records, not advocacy groups, campaign press releases or social media posts. When those groups make claims worth covering, the claims are reported as claims, with the name of whoever made them.
These are the main sources:
| Source | What it is used for |
|---|---|
| Congress.gov | Bill text, amendments, actions, vote records and sponsor details |
| Congressional Budget Office (CBO) | Cost estimates, baseline projections and budget analyses |
| USAspending.gov | Federal awards, obligations and recipient data |
| Government Accountability Office (GAO) | Audits, legal decisions and oversight findings |
| House and Senate appropriations committee reports | Bill explanations, funding tables and member request disclosures |
| Federal Register | Agency rules, notices and funding announcements |
Other primary material fills gaps where it is needed: Treasury reports on receipts, outlays and the deficit, the President’s budget request from the Office of Management and Budget, agency budget justifications and inspector general reports. If a figure cannot be traced to a record like these, it is not presented as fact.
How Earmarks Are Described
An earmark entry starts with the official disclosure. In the House these requests are called Community Project Funding. In the Senate they are called Congressionally Directed Spending. For fiscal year 2027, House members and senators each post their requests on their own websites, and the appropriations committees publish their own lists and guidance.
Each entry describes the project in the record’s own terms: what the money is for, who receives it, where it goes and how much was requested or provided. It also names every sponsoring member, with party and state. When a project has sponsors from both parties, all of them are listed.
If a request deserves a closer look, the article gives the specific reason, such as an unusual cost, a missing detail in the disclosure or a related GAO finding. That analysis is kept separate from the description of the project.
Numbers Carry a Fiscal Year and an “As Of” Date
Federal numbers change. Bills get amended, CBO revises its estimates, and USAspending.gov updates as agencies report new obligations. A figure that was right in March can be out of date by June.
Every figure therefore comes with two labels:
- The fiscal year. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the year it ends. Fiscal year 2027 began on October 1, 2026 and ends on September 30, 2027.
- An “as of” date. If a figure can change, such as obligations to date, a running earmark total or the level of the national debt, it is shown with the date it was retrieved, for example “as of November 10, 2026.”
Dates and deadlines are checked against the primary record: the date a bill was signed on Congress.gov, the expiration date written into a continuing resolution, or the effective date printed in the Federal Register.
The Kind of Number Is Always Named
“Spending” can mean several different things, and mixing them up is one of the most common mistakes in budget coverage. Articles say which one they mean:
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Requested | What the President, an agency or a member asked Congress for |
| Proposed | What a bill or committee draft would provide |
| Enacted | What became law |
| Budget authority | The legal authority to commit money |
| Obligated | Money an agency has formally committed |
| Outlays | Money the Treasury has actually paid out |
| Estimated | A projection, usually from CBO or OMB, not a final figure |
When two official sources give different numbers for the same thing, the article explains why. The reason is usually timing, scope or definition. The more dramatic number is never picked without saying so.
How Each Article Is Checked
Before publication, every checkable claim is matched against its source. The process runs in this order:
- Each dollar amount, vote count, date and bill number is traced to a primary record.
- Member names, parties and states are checked against Congress.gov.
- Each figure is labelled with its type (requested, enacted, obligated and so on) and its fiscal year.
- Any figure that changes over time gets an “as of” date.
- Every quote and claim is attributed to the person or office that made it.
The checking is a review of documents and data. PB Spending Watch does not run lab tests or hands-on product testing, and articles do not claim otherwise.
Both Parties, Same Standard
Earmarks, shutdown standoffs and budget gimmicks happen under both parties. The same rules apply whoever holds the House, the Senate or the White House.
- Members of both parties are identified the same way, with party and state.
- Examples are not chosen to make one side look worse.
- When a party’s position on spending changes depending on who is in power, the change is reported plainly.
- Readers are never told how to vote.
News, Claims and Opinion
News coverage starts with what happened: what passed, what failed, what was signed, which deadline is next and how much money is involved. Claims are attributed. If a senator says a bill will cost jobs, or a press secretary blames the other party for a shutdown, the article says who said it and checks the claim against the record where possible. A disputed claim is never repeated in the site’s own voice as if it were settled.
Analysis and opinion, when published, are labelled as such and kept apart from news. They follow the same sourcing rules. People can disagree about opinions, but the underlying numbers should be the same for everyone.
Anonymous sourcing is a last resort. When it is used, the article explains why the source could not be named and what puts the source in a position to know.
Keeping Older Articles Up to Date
Budget stories age quickly, so evergreen articles and trackers are reviewed and refreshed.
- The original publish date stays. It is never changed to make an old article look new.
- An update date is shown whenever an article is revised in substance.
- Outdated parts are marked. Figures, deadlines or bill statuses that events have overtaken are either updated with a new “as of” date or kept as dated history in the past tense, with a clear note.
- Trackers show when they were last updated, so you can see if a vote or deadline happened after the latest refresh.
Corrections
Factual errors are fixed openly. Once an error is confirmed, the correction is made within one business day, and a note on the page explains what changed and when. Published figures are never changed without a note. Typos that do not change the meaning may be fixed without one.
If a correction changes the substance of a story, such as a wrong dollar amount, a misattributed sponsor or an earmark credited to the wrong member, the note says so directly.
To report an error, contact the editors through the site. Include the page, the specific claim and, if possible, the official record that shows the correct information. A link to Congress.gov, a CBO estimate or a committee disclosure is the fastest way to get a fix made.
Independence and Money
PB Spending Watch takes no payment for coverage. It publishes no sponsored articles, no paid placements and no guest posts. The site has no ties to any party, campaign, member of Congress or advocacy group, and none of them shape its coverage.
If these methods change, this page will be updated and the date of the change shown. The simplest way to use the site is to check its numbers yourself: every figure is meant to come with a fiscal year, an “as of” date and a record you can look up.