Government transparency websites such as Data.gov and the IT Dashboard would narrowly escape elimination under the spending package Republicans released today.

The omnibus includes $12.4 million for the Electronic Government Fund, which provides money to run transparency websites and carry out information technology initiatives like data center consolidation. The so-called E-Gov Fund suffered deep cuts in the 2011 spending compromise, dropping from a budget of $34 million in fiscal 2009 and 2010 to $8 million.

Pressure to cut spending further threatened the fund this year. But Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) -- who has spoken out repeatedly about the importance of the fund -- stepped in and urged appropriators to provide enough funds to ensure government transparency. Government transparency groups also lobbied Congress, such as the Sunlight Foundation in its "Save the Data" campaign.

In a statement today, Carper applauded House and Senate appropriators for recognizing "the valuable role and importance" of the fund.

The E-Gov Fund "helps the government communicate with citizens in smarter and more effective ways, and also helps agencies figure out ways to use technology better," he said. "It allows agencies to streamline their operations by cutting wasteful and duplicative spending throughout the federal government. This not only saves taxpayers' money, it also results in a better level of service for the American people."

Both the House and Senate had originally proposed combining the 2012 E-Gov fund with the Federal Citizen Services Fund (FCS), which pays for the government's 800 number and USA.gov. Meshing the two threatened the continuation of many transparency projects, since FCS took priority.

Among those threatened were the sub-awards section on USASpending.gov and the updating of data on Data.gov. Performance.gov would have been unable to meet the requirements of the new Government Performance and Results Modernization Act on time, according to Carper's office.

Agencies would have also lost out on governmentwide resources for moving to cloud computing and consolidating data centers -- two efforts that are expected to save billions of dollars. IT Dashboard, which is not required by law like USASpending.gov, would have gone dark.

But Carper spokeswoman Emily Spain said that under the omnibus -- which Republicans released today as a bipartisan bill -- the E-Gov Fund has enough money to keep such sites going.

The Office of Management and Budget did not return a request for comment in time for publication. But OMB Director Jack Lew unveiled today a report from the new Government Accountability and Transparency Board on how to improve the tracking and display of federal spending data on sites that are funded through the E-Gov Fund.

Among the recommendations: streamlining the collection of data and adopting a universal identification system for federal awards.

"These efforts are important steps, but we cannot stop there," Lew wrote in a blog post. "Transparency and accountability measures must keep pace with the challenges presented by bad actors who are continuously trying new tactics to take unfair advantage of Federal programs. And so our efforts must be constantly evolving as well."