If you don’t already know, Recovery.gov is the White House’s answer as to how it will provide stimulus package transparency and accountability. The site went live in the last few days, and for now, is more of a promise of what we can expect rather than any revealing data.
In President Obama’s video message we are assured that Recovery.gov will be a searchable database of how the stimulus package money is spent. For now though, the information that we are given (if you don’t want to read the full text of the bill) is very much overly simplified into 2 parts:
- First a list of 8 areas where the money will be shared – tax relief, state and local fiscal relief, infrastructure & science, protecting the vulnerable, healthcare, education and training, energy and “other”
- Second a map of the US showing state-by-state, how many jobs are expected to be created or saved – note, we don’t know the proportion that are “saved” versus “created”
There is also a timeline which shows when and how federal agencies are to decide who will receive grants and awards. Agencies are required to feed the information to the Recovery.gov team who will then make it available to the public through this website. Until this happens we shouldn’t expect much more from the site.
Obama promises transparency – how, when and where the money is spent – and accountability – enough data to allow the public to evaluate the successfulness or not of the stimulus package. It also seems like we will get the ability to provide feedback through a form although it’s not clear whether these comments will be viewable on the site. It would be hard to imagine the Administration allowing too many negative comments.
Overall, I am confident that this site will ultimately provide a level of transparency that we have not seen before but I will hold judgment for now on whether it is enough. Government sites like USASpending.gov already collect data about all types of contracts and grants, but this is limited to the federal government. Money distributed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will also fall into the hands of state and local government. While Recovery.gov will track that money this is a chance to demand much more accountability and transparency from state and local government that goes beyond the scope of the stimulus package. Demand that they put infrastructure in place to report on stimulus money they receive and it will be difficult for them not to use the same for their general spending.
Time will tell how effective Recovery.gov is but at the outset the Administration’s intentions appear to be in the right place.
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Finally, something positive is happening here and I hope will strengthen the global recovery. Not because it will help our economy, because it will help the world’s economy. I don’t think anybody likes to fight on a full stomach.
I have lived in Alabama all my life, unless you count six years in the USAF and I just turned 60.
This is the first time since 1981
I have felt both lucky and proud to be an American.
I am a super-duper bright blue dot in a very red state.
I truly believe, that if the stimulus package, would have been given directly, to each American family, the economy would have improved much faster! Each household, or tax payer, be given a debit card, for $250,000! Mortgages could be paid off, new cars purchased, to help the auto industry! Any way the money is spent, would help to create jobs! Also, if any one would bother to do the math, it would have cost much less, than the package passed! I hope the next time around, this idea, is taken into consideration!! Money in hand, would surely hit the economy, much faster!! GO PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!