Consumer Groups Say Recovery Site Falls Short

March 11, 2009— -- The Office of Management and Budget proudly told Congress last week that since the Obama administration unveiled its Web site recovery.gov to track how the nearly $787 billion in economic stimulus funds will be spent, the site has received about 150 million hits.

The number astounded Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut , chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

"One-hundred fifty million hits in 2½ weeks?" asked Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. "It reflects both the anxiety and the emergency" felt by the American people.

In response, Robert L. Nabors II, deputy director of the OMB, said, "There are people who just want to see how their money is being spent."

But while President Obama appears on recovery.gov saying the site allows taxpayers to scrutinize how their dollars are invested, some consumer groups fear that the Web site, as it is set up, falls short of the government's promise to keep the expenditures for the stimulus completely transparent.

Good Jobs First, a group that's tracking the money, worries that consumers may have a hard time searching the site, which launched Feb. 17.

"The fact that recovery.gov is getting such traffic tells us people want to watch where their money is going," executive director Greg LeRoy said. "But right now the system doesn't give them the details it needs."

LeRoy said there is time for the administration to improve the Web site, as many states have yet to receive their stimulus funds. But he worries that the original OMB guidance fails to require states to provide information on the outcomes of particular projects.

"So far, there is no requirement, for example, to list how many homes have been weatherized or how many roads have been created or how many new broadband customers have been added," LeRoy said.

He also expressed concern that the site doesn't have the technical functions to make it consumer-friendly.

"The site should have a search function so you could search a project by ZIP code, by city, by contractor," he said. "As it stands now, there is no way a consumer can effectively track and analyze the actions of the government."

Holding the Administration Accountable

Craig Jennings, a policy analyst at the consumer group OMB Watch, which tracks recovery funds, said, "It's good to be wary and hold the administration's feet to the fire when they make sweeping statements of transparency.

"It's clear the administration's rhetoric is serious. But we are fearful of certain flaws in the reporting requirements of the funds. Getting the reporting system right is going to be a learning process."

One concern for Jennings is that while the OMB has produced a 60-page memo for heads of departments and agencies on the reporting requirements for the funds, the requirements do not extend deep enough into the subcontractor level. States will hire contractors for many projects, who will, in turn, hire subcontractors for precise projects.

"There is going to be multiple levels of subcontractors that won't have to report out" Jennings said. "That could mean funds are going to subcontractors that, for example, don't perform well or have ties to elected officials. We don't know if the subcontractor is even an American worker. There is no birds-eye view to ensure that one subcontractor is collecting federal funds from more than one state."

Another worry comes from a top administration supporter, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who fears the Web site appears too political.

In a recent hearing, she said the cite contains "150 pictures of the president I worked so hard to get into the White House" but should focus more on efforts of the committee, the inspector generals and the Government Accountability Office.

Tom Gavin, deputy associate director for strategic planning and communications at the OMB, has heard the criticism but said the Web site would evolve.

In an e-mail, he said, " The Web site is an unprecedented effort to bring transparency and accountability to how taxpayer dollars are spent. The initial steps already visible at Recovery Act are the floor, not the ceiling, of our transparency efforts. We want to get good information into the public's hands quickly."

States Developing Their Own Web Sites

In addition to recovery.gov, states and localities are developing their own recovery Web sites that may include further detailed information and functionality.

Obama, in the video clip on the site, acknowledges that the project is a work in progress. "Take a look now," he said. "And come back often. Recovery.gov will be changing and growing a lot in the weeks and months to come."