Eye on the Stimulus
We’re tracking the stimulus from bill to building, and we're organizing citizens nationwide to watchdog local stimulus projects. Our team includes editor Tom Detzel, lead reporter Michael Grabell, Jennifer LaFleur, Amanda Michel, Eric Umansky and Christopher Flavelle.
Congress Does Repair Job on Stimulus School Construction Plan
Last December, we reported in USA Today that a plan to subsidize billions of dollars in school construction under the stimulus bill had largely flopped.
Now, Congress has passed a fix to get the program back on track. President Obama signed the bill today.
“We’re excited about this,” said Ben Matthews, director of school support for North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction. The state was among many that couldn’t take full advantage of the program because of red tape, technical glitches and difficulty persuading lenders to participate.
Stimulus Spending Cracks 40 Percent
The Obama administration has spent $317 billion of last February’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to the latest numbers from Recovery.gov. The funds include $198 billion in spending and an estimated $119 billion in tax cuts, and represent just over 40 percent of the nearly $800 billion stimulus package.
You can track stimulus spending by agency on our interactive Stimulus Progress Bar. You can also see how fast that money is moving out the door, by checking out our Stimulus Speed Chart.
Federal Agencies: Stimulus Priorities Come At Expense of Non-Stimulus Work
With all the attention paid to the stimulus—to contractor waste and fraud, questionable job creation numbers, and inaccurate data—it’s easy to understand why federal agencies are feeling the pressure to get their act together when it comes to the handling and oversight of stimulus contracts.
According to a report by the Commerce Department’s inspector general, many agencies are now prioritizing Recovery Act work to such a point that non-stimulus operations are being compromised. Staff members work increased hours, non-stimulus contract awards suffer delays, and contracts receive less oversight.
Senate Acknowledges Need for More Accountability on Stimulus
March 15: This post has been updated.
Not a big, flashy headline, but we thought it was worth noting:
Today the Senate unanimously voted to amend a jobs bill with new rules to strengthen the government’s tracking and reporting of stimulus spending and its effectiveness. Sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the new amendment requires federal agencies to assess and update current methods for tracking stimulus funds and to file quarterly reports for Congress and the public. Grant recipients that “knowing and consistently” fail to meet these requirements could face fines of up to $250,000.
Get Your State’s Recovery Data From ProPublica
If you’re on our data tools and reporting features e-mail list, you got a heads-up about this last night.
We’re making the data supporting our Recovery Tracker available to you upon request. Just fill out this form and we’ll get you state data within 48 hours.
The Recovery Tracker includes all the data used on the government’s stimulus Web site, Recovery.gov, and thousands of records the feds didn’t include—the law doesn’t require all recipients to report to Recovery.gov. We also cleaned out the cobwebs. Altogether they’re the most comprehensive publicly available analysis of stimulus spending.
Track the Stimulus: Interactive Tools
How much stimulus money has been spent? How much is left to spend?
Also:
Recovery TrackerFind stimulus projects happening near you. (Updated: March 2010)
Want CSVs of our stimulus data? Fill out this signup form.
Stimulus Speed ChartWhich government agencies are the slowest at getting stimulus money out the door? (Updated Weekly)
Stimulus Spending ProgressHow quickly are federal agencies spending? Updated weekly.
ProPublica’s Unofficial Guide to Recovery.gov
Confused by the government's official stimulus data Web site? Our guide will tell you how to navigate it.
How to Background Check Stimulus CompaniesA guide of tips and resources on researching the background of companies getting stimulus funds.
Investigations of Stimulus Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
Schools Have Trouble Tapping Stimulus Funds 12/24
Stimulus Money Paid Out Now Exceeds Money in the Pipeline 12/23
Thousands of Stimulus Reports Missing, Resulting in Potential Undercount of Jobs Created 12/9
Stimulus Contracts Go to Companies Under Criminal Investigation 10/25
- Recovery.gov
The government’s stimulus transparency page - Investments by State
Recovery.gov's list of how much each state is getting, in total and for each program - Investments by Agency
Recovery.gov's list of how much each agency has available and paid out - Projects by State
An interactive map of projects by state and by county, including their estimated value - Policy Debates by State
Primers on stimulus debates in each state - Conference of Mayors
A run-down of stimulus programs, news, and developments in U.S. cities - Stateline
News and information from the Pew Center on the States - CNN Stimulus Project
A weeklong special with stories, video and graphics from January 2010 - Business Exchange (U.S. Economic Stimulus)
Stimulus news and resources from BusinessWeek - Education Week (Politics K-12)
Breakdowns and analysis of education funding - Read the Stimulus
Searchable index of different versions of the bill - The New York Times (Economic Stimulus)
The Times’ latest stimulus coverage - Sunshine.GOP.gov
A breakdown of stimulus contracts from the House Republican Conference
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Eye on the Stimulus
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