Blog Posts and Analysis / Revenue & Spending

October Surprise: Looming Recovery Act Data Quality Issues

At the end of October, the first round of recipient reporting for the Recovery Act will be released on Recovery.gov. This reporting is a crucial step in Recovery Act oversight and transparency, but there is no guarantee that the reporting process will proceed smoothly. Come October, the diffusion of responsibility for Recovery Act data quality could result in a great deal of confusion, as a flood of bad data could stymie the administration’s efforts at Recovery Act transparency.

read in full

Obama Administration Seeks to Curtail Award Fee Contracts

During a recent Senate hearing, a top official from President Obama's budget office detailed the administration's plan for curtailing the use of award fee contracts, controversial vehicles that, according to good government groups, are filled with waste, fraud, and abuse. This plan stems from the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) latest release of guidance to federal agencies on reforming the federal procurement process – part of a larger reform effort the administration is undertaking. During the same hearing, however, chief procurement officials from several federal agencies raised concerns over the possible consequences of further regulation.

read in full

Advocates Say New Recovery Act Lobbying Guidance Doesn’t Go Far Enough

On July 24, Peter Orszag, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), released further guidance that amends restrictions on lobbying for Recovery Act funds. The document states that it is meant "to supersede all prior written OMB and other agency guidance on the subject." Despite the adjustments within the guidance, which advocates note is a significant step in the right direction, many say the changes do not go far enough to prompt disclosure of all lobbying and other contacts associated with Recovery Act spending.

read in full

OMB Watch Submits Contracting Reform Comments

OMB Watch recently submitted comments and recommendations on needed reforms to the federal contracting process in response to a presidential memorandum issued earlier in 2009. The Presidential Memorandum on Government Contracting directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to both collaborate with federal agencies to review existing contracts and to develop new guidance to help reform future government contracting.

read in full

House Passes Statutory PAYGO Bill

The House passed legislation (H.R. 2920) on July 22 that would reinstate statutory "pay-as-you-go" (PAYGO) budgeting rules, which were allowed to expire in 2002.

read in full

TARP IG Reports Underscore Need for Better Transparency in Financial Bailout

Two recent reports by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), Neil Barofsky, provide useful information and stand in sharp contrast to the Treasury Department's attempt to provide comparable transparency for the program, also known as TARP. One report clearly presents existing TARP information, while the other supplies new data that Treasury should be providing. In both cases, the reports highlight changes Treasury should make to how it conducts and presents TARP data.

read in full

Focus on Implementation Lacking in Hearing on Recovery Act

On July 8, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on the implementation of the Recovery Act to date. The hearing included testimony from a number of government officials and raised concerns that some members of Congress may lack a clear understanding of the challenges of implementing and tracking a large-scale economic recovery effort. As implementation progresses and new decisions are made, better oversight of these developments will become even more important.

read in full

Pages

  • ©2025 Project On Government Oversight
  • All Rights Reserved.
  • This an archive site of the materials produced by the Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) and is maintained by the Project On Government Oversight.