I agree that some type of rigorous programmatic interface that allows developers to access the data from recovery.gov is essential.  I think that SOAP and associated the rest of WS-* stack might be one way to implement such access mechanisms, but I would not want SOAP to the exclusive protocol used.   I would argue, for instance, that a RESTful approach is also an excellent alternative to consider for recovery.gov.

I agree that the interaction between agencies that are involved in the data flows supporting the movement of data from the many sources to the various consolidation points would be greatly enhanced through the use of SOAP and XML.  In fact, the standard eXtensible Business Reporting Language or XBRL is an XML schema or data model that was created to support financial management and the processes associated with large scale data traffic.  The use of SOAP, XML with XBRL along with the Java Messaging Service or JMS will provide an open standards based framework that can scale from very small instances to very large bulk data traffic.  This is a much more robust approach to interfacing discrete disparate systems than what is generally achieved with syndication style feeds.  Have a look at the discussion on Thinking XML: Analyze financial reporting using XBRL.

I agree with the RESTful approach.  Since OMB is looking to use REST/ATOM/RSS, wouldn't it make sense to start with something compatible?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/recovery_default/

Not to seem like a shameless promoter but simply because I think these two ideas are interconnected, here's an idea / comment I have regarding data availability and standardization;

http://thenationaldialogue.org/ideas/data-mantates-should-focus-on-the-whats-not-hows

In short (bad spelling aside) and assuming the link works, I think you'll see that I believe the real focus now should be deciding what numbers are shared and standardizing on those calculations.

It's probably sufficient enough to say "share everything", something I believe, but if one group calculated headcount by excluding contractors and the other includes them, then we could inadvertently make a poor decision if we expected those numbers were equivalent.

I also believe the government should only rarely dictate technical details of "how" something is shared. It's too easy for the focus to be "this must be XML" or "this must be JSON" and the agency can meet the expecations of that declaration by supplying a XML file 1 minute per day.

If we can pull people's focus a little higher for a time and agree on standards of availability and accounting consistency I have no doubt that the technical savvy among us can render semantic implementation details like JSON vs. XML vs. WSDL irrelevant.

It would be good if XML schemas were published for all public information with definitions of each element contained in <xsd:documentation> elements within each schema.  It would also be good if the draft XSD for the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Data Reference Model (DRM) were finalized and implemented: http://xml.gov/draft/drm20060105.xsd 

A common data source is nice, but we have to have consistency - that's the only way to compare state to state performance/adherence to the transparency.

This method would be like asking everyone to include the same data in their spreadsheet, but with 50 different designs.

While the idea of "XML Web Services" is a good one and should be pursued, it should not be done in the flavor of SOAP services. Instead, RESTful HTTP can deliver XML in a more Web-compatible way, and also is much more accessible in terms of required technologies. For example, mobile devices nowadays often have HTTP and XML support built-in, but using SOAP (and in particular potentially complex WS-* profiles) is not readily possible, and sometimes almost impossible because of device limitations. the use of Plain Web technologies is a better foundation for data that should be as open, usable, and accessible as possible for the widest possible range of users, devices, and applications.

There may be some useful examples of this idea included in this posting:  http://www.thenationaldialogue.org/ideas/collaboration