White House Unveils Recovery.gov
As promised, the White House on Tuesday launched Recovery.gov -- a Web site that features information on how the $787 billion economic stimulus package is being spent along with tools to help citizens hold the government accountable. Issues surrounding the site's implementation and measures for success will likely arise as part of a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing planned for March 5. OMB Director Peter Orszag is expected to testify along with GAO Acting Comptroller General Eugene Dodaro and Phyllis Fong, chair of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
"It is critical to ensure that systems are in place -- ahead of time -- to oversee this massive level of spending and that the public is provided with as much information as possible about where their money is going," Chairman Joseph Lieberman said in a Saturday press release. Ranking member Susan Collins echoed his sentiment, noting that she opposed releasing the remaining government funding for financial institutions last month because the initial roll-out lacked what she believed was proper transparency and accountability. "We cannot afford to make the same mistake with the economic stimulus package," she said.
The issue is expected to gain traction in the House as well, according to a spokesman for House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking member Darrell Issa. "The promise of transparency must be met with more than rhetoric -- it must be exercised in application," Kurt Bardella said in an e-mail. "The reality is the federal bureaucracy is now being asked to absorb hundreds of billions of dollars and the potential for waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement is something we will need to be diligent in preventing.
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