First release of stimulus bill recipient data draws mixed reviews from transparency advocates
The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board issued its first release of data from recipients of stimulus bill funds on October 15. About a third of the stimulus spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act enacted in February comes in the form of contracts, grants, and loans. The bill requires recipients of these funds to file reports on how the funds were used. The data indicated that a total of about 30,000 jobs were created or saved by the contracts reported in the release.
The Coalition for an Accountable Recovery (CAR) praised the transparency steps taken under the Recovery Act but said the reporting tools employed in the first data release need to be improved. Gary Bass, executive director of coalition partner OMB Watch, said in a press release that the Recovery Act “is proving to be the most transparent federal spending law ever enacted… It is a watershed because the Obama administration has successfully created a new reporting system that requires recipients of Recovery Act funds to report in a timely manner how they are using federal resources. Unfortunately, the Recovery.gov website is an ineffective and inadequate tool for understanding the very small share of Recovery Act dollars reported today.”
The CAR release cited a raft of problems in the first data release, including inadequate search and download functionality, data quality problems, troublesome navigation, and poor explanation. “While acknowledging the significant precedent set by today’s data release, the Coalition expects significant improvements will be made to the Recovery.gov website before the recipient data about grants and loans are released on Oct. 30.”
In a preview (pdf, 60kb) of the October 15 release posted earlier in the week, CAR explained that the first release of data “equals only a tiny sliver of the total funds expended during the first quarter of the Act. So whatever jobs figures come out will also undoubtedly be a tiny sliver of the Recovery Act’s total jobs impact. The recipient reporting data that will be published on Recovery.gov will only cover spending on grants, contracts and loans. Recipient reports for the other spending categories – entitlements and tax breaks – are not required.” The preview said the scope of data reported on October 30 “will be far broader and more representative.”