June 18, 2009 6:22 PM
- Text
Obama Aide Outlines Stimulus Requirements
(CBS/AP)
President Barack Obama's top budget aides are putting in place strict reporting requirements for all federal agencies that will be involved in spending parts of the $787 billion economic stimulus package.
Obama's budget chief, Peter Orszag, released a 25,000-word document this week that details exactly how Cabinet and executive agencies, states and local organizations must report spending the money designed to save or create more than 3 million jobs over the next two years. It's a strict system meant to streamline reports so they can be displayed on the administration's new Web site, Recovery.gov.
"The administration is committed to investing Recovery Act dollars with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability so Americans know where their tax dollars are going and how they are being spent," Orszag wrote in a memo that he posted online.
For instance, all "major communications," such as grant awards or infrastructure decisions, would have to be reported immediately to the Office of Management and Budget, which Orszag heads. And by March 3, OMB has ordered agencies to begin filing weekly reports of their stimulus spending activity to post online.
Orszag said the new reporting requirements are intended to ensure that "the recipients and uses of all funds are transparent to the public, and the public benefits of these funds are reported clearly, accurately and in a timely manner."
Starting in May, every entity receiving recovery dollars must submit a monthly report. Also that month, officials have to begin providing an agency-wide plan detailing how the money is being spent.
By July 10, every recipient of federal dollars will have to report how they're spending them.
It's part of Obama's pledge to make every piece of his massive stimulus plan transparent so Americans can see how and where their money is going. Before the announcement, watchdog groups and OMB aides worried they might not be able to deliver on Obama's ambitious plan.
But Orszag's memo makes clear that every project is going to have to be ready-to-post: no more than a five-sentence description, an explanation of why it's important, with promotional videos attached.
It's as much good governance as it is public relations. An Associated Press-GfK poll released Wednesday found public support dipped slightly in the past month for the package of tax cuts and government spending signed into law this week.
The document also requires all recipients to report cumulative spending, major actions and anything that senior government officials or Congress would care about. Orszag is asking for data by state, county or "other geographical unit," such as city or town. The idea is to help officials promote individual projects, such as a highway onramp or a school gymnasium that puts people to work.
The president's aides see it as part of a grassroots effort that helped win the November election, as well as a way to demonstrate he is bringing change - his campaign watchword - to Washington.
Some Republicans have been critical of the stimulus package.
On CBS' The Early Show South Carolina's Republican governor, Mark Sanford said Thursday the sheer size of the stimulus package will end up hindering any economic recovery.
"I think the problem that was created with too much debt will never be solved by adding yet more debt," he said. "I think there are a number of wrinkles that have caused a number of us to say 'Wait a minute, let's take a long look at whether or not this really makes sense for our state.'"
Obama's budget chief, Peter Orszag, released a 25,000-word document this week that details exactly how Cabinet and executive agencies, states and local organizations must report spending the money designed to save or create more than 3 million jobs over the next two years. It's a strict system meant to streamline reports so they can be displayed on the administration's new Web site, Recovery.gov.
"The administration is committed to investing Recovery Act dollars with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability so Americans know where their tax dollars are going and how they are being spent," Orszag wrote in a memo that he posted online.
For instance, all "major communications," such as grant awards or infrastructure decisions, would have to be reported immediately to the Office of Management and Budget, which Orszag heads. And by March 3, OMB has ordered agencies to begin filing weekly reports of their stimulus spending activity to post online.
Orszag said the new reporting requirements are intended to ensure that "the recipients and uses of all funds are transparent to the public, and the public benefits of these funds are reported clearly, accurately and in a timely manner."
Starting in May, every entity receiving recovery dollars must submit a monthly report. Also that month, officials have to begin providing an agency-wide plan detailing how the money is being spent.
By July 10, every recipient of federal dollars will have to report how they're spending them.
It's part of Obama's pledge to make every piece of his massive stimulus plan transparent so Americans can see how and where their money is going. Before the announcement, watchdog groups and OMB aides worried they might not be able to deliver on Obama's ambitious plan.
But Orszag's memo makes clear that every project is going to have to be ready-to-post: no more than a five-sentence description, an explanation of why it's important, with promotional videos attached.
It's as much good governance as it is public relations. An Associated Press-GfK poll released Wednesday found public support dipped slightly in the past month for the package of tax cuts and government spending signed into law this week.
The document also requires all recipients to report cumulative spending, major actions and anything that senior government officials or Congress would care about. Orszag is asking for data by state, county or "other geographical unit," such as city or town. The idea is to help officials promote individual projects, such as a highway onramp or a school gymnasium that puts people to work.
The president's aides see it as part of a grassroots effort that helped win the November election, as well as a way to demonstrate he is bringing change - his campaign watchword - to Washington.
Some Republicans have been critical of the stimulus package.
On CBS' The Early Show South Carolina's Republican governor, Mark Sanford said Thursday the sheer size of the stimulus package will end up hindering any economic recovery.
"I think the problem that was created with too much debt will never be solved by adding yet more debt," he said. "I think there are a number of wrinkles that have caused a number of us to say 'Wait a minute, let's take a long look at whether or not this really makes sense for our state.'"
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