I'm pretty late getting this up today, but the House of Representatives passed the FY 2010 budget resolution earlier this afternoon by a vote of 233-193. 17 Democrats voted against the resolution and not one Republican supported it. The vote also saw only 6 Blue Dog Democrats oppose the resolution out of the 51 members of that group. The Senate is currently debating the conference report agreement on the budget resolution and is expected to approve it later today.

The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, the Office of Management and Budget and the National Academy of Public Administration are hosting a week-long, online dialogue around the question "What ideas, tools, and approaches can make Recovery.gov a place where all citizens can transparently monitor the expenditure and use of recovery funds?"

The Coalition for an Accountable Recovery (CAR), coordinated by OMB Watch, has been hard at work monitoring the implementation of the Recovery Act. Last Friday, April 17, the coalition submitted comments on the proposed implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). OMB Watch also produced a summary of the guidance for the coalition and released it publicly on April 10.

Earmarks has become the new four letter word in Congress of late, with most members rhetorically castigating earmarks while quietly slipping in earmark requests for funding in their districts to committee staff, in conference reports of bills, and anyplace else they can stick them.