Morning Cup: Oversight or Overkill?

This is the latest roundup from our stimulus blog.

Overseeing the economic stimulus package has been the subject of four congressional hearings in the past week. Last Wednesday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing to check the progress of highway, transit and water projects. Transportation officials were back the next day before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

There were two more hearings yesterday -- one by a House transportation subcommittee to chart the progress of the General Services Administration, which oversees federal buildings, and one by the House Science and Technology Committee to assess the government's ability to track stimulus money. Said Earl Devaney, head of stimulus oversight, "If I could wave a magic wand, I would want to follow a dollar from cradle to grave."

Is the stimulus working? The Associated Press reports that government building activity rose 1.1 percent in March.

In other news, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $787 million for biofuels research. And libraries are seeking stimulus money for Web access. The American Library Association reports that, although communities increasingly rely on libraries for the Internet, only 60 percent can meet demand during peak hours.

Project of the day: a fence to prevent suicides on the All-America Bridge in Akron, Ohio.

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