Appropriations
Is the Stimulus Working?
Jul 31, 2009 by Craig Jennings
This morning, the Bureau of Economic Analyses released the latest economic growth data. In the second quarter of this year, the gross domestic product (GDP) shrank at annul rate of 1.0 percent. While this represents a slowing of the free-fall rate of economic contraction we saw in Q1 (6.4 percent), the economy has quite a ways to go before job losses become gains and wages begin ticking upward. This improvement, though, does beg the question "Is the Recovery Act working?"
read in fullChugging Along: Time for an Appropriations Update
Jul 28, 2009 by Jocelyn Yin*
As Congress hits the home stretch before the traditional August recess, it's time to see what Congress has been up to...
OMB Watch Submits Comments on Contracting Reform
Jul 21, 2009 by Adam Hughes*
On March 4, President Obama released a Memorandum on Government Contracting, which instructed the OMB and other federal agencies to improve and strengthen federal contracting practices, including seeking input from the public. In response to this effort, OMB Watch submitted comments and recommendations on necessary reforms to the federal contracting system.
Obama's Use of Signing Agreements Draws Ire of House Democrat Leaders
Jul 21, 2009 by Jocelyn Yin*
Today, four House Democrat leaders, including Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. David Obey (D-WI), released a strongly worded letter that expresses their displeasure with President Obama's use of a signing statement to reassert his right to ignore the conditions placed on the IMF funding for purposes of conducting foreign policy.
read in fullSIGTARP Report Calls for More Bank Info
Jul 20, 2009 by Craig Jennings
This morning the Special Inspector for TARP released a report based on a survey of some 360 financial institutions that received TARP funds. The report finds that:
Many banks reported that TARP funds allowed them to increase lending for residential and commercial loans, small business loans, credit card loans, and other types of lending. Most firms reported multiple and sometimes interrelated uses; a majority of respondents’ reported that they used the funds primarily for lending, building capital reserves and investing...read in full
Congress Looks to Boost CPSC Funding above Obama Request
Jul 14, 2009 by Matthew Madia
Both the House and the Senate are working to increase the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission – the beleaguered federal regulator of everything from toys to toasters.
read in fullPost-July 4th Appropriations Update
Jul 7, 2009 by Jocelyn Yin*
As Congress returns to work this week, it's time to take a look at the status of various appropriations bills.
read in fullIT Dashboard Provides Detailed Look at Tech Spending
Jul 2, 2009 by Sam Rosen-Amy
On Tuesday, June 30, Vivek Kundra, the new federal Chief Information Officer, unveiled the IT dashboard, part of the newly redesigned USAspending.gov. The dashboard is actually pretty amazing, as it lets users examine every federal IT project, by agency, and shows whether each project is on schedule and on budget, along with a link to a detailed list of performance metrics for the project. It also has a tab for analysis of the data, which right now is limited to a graph of spending by agency over time and a chart showing a breakdown of the current year's budget. The site also allows third-parties to download XML versions of the data, a feature which I hope will now be standard on all government sites.
Counting Chickens Before They Hatch: A Quick Lesson on Recovery Act Spending
Jul 1, 2009 by Sam Rosen-Amy
One of the trickiest aspects of tracking Recovery Act spending is a very basic one: figuring out how much money has been spent so far. Theoretically, it should be pretty easy. Find out how much the federal government has spent because of the Recovery Act, and, well, that's how much has been spent on it. By that estimate, according to Recovery.gov, we've already spent almost $53 billion on the recovery, which isn't particularly impressive.
Unfortunately, though, it's not that easy.
read in fullAnalysis of New Recovery Act Reporting Guidance
Jun 30, 2009
On June 22, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued new guidance to federal agencies on implementing recipient reporting requirements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly called the Recovery Act. The guidance comes roughly four months after President Obama signed the Recovery Act into law and puts in place new requirements for the first quarterly reports that will start flowing in from grantees Oct. 10. According to the Coalition for an Accountable Recovery (CAR), "While this guidance is a step in the right direction, there is still much room for improvement."
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