PRESS RELEASE
-For Immediate Release-
July 13, 2009

Contact: Brian Gumm, (202) 683-4812, bgumm@ombwatch.org

OMB Watch and Coalition for an Accountable Recovery Ask Government to Post Recovery.gov Contract Online

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2009—Today, OMB Watch and the Coalition for an Accountable Recovery wrote to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and requested that the board immediately make available on Recovery.gov the recently announced contract with Smartronix to redesign Recovery.gov, the contract or task order with CGI Federal to create FederalReporting.gov, and any other contracts related to the work of the board.

The full text of the letter follows:

Dear Mr. Devaney:

On behalf of the Coalition for an Accountable Recovery, I write to you today to request that you, in your capacity as the chair of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, immediately make available on Recovery.gov the recently-announced contract with Smartronix to redesign Recovery.gov, the contract or task order with CGI Federal to create FederalReporting.gov, and any other contracts related to the work of the Board. I also request that you disclose the cost of the work being done by CGI Federal in creating FederalReporting.gov and implementing tools for recipient reporting.

There has been only limited information about the Recovery.gov Website Redesign through FedBizOpps.gov. Frustratingly, no information whatsoever about the FederalReporting.gov contract has been made publicly available. Such important information needs to be disclosed.

Moreover, we are disappointed that Recovery.gov does not have copies of all federal contracts provided under the Recovery Act. Initial guidance from the Office of Management and Budget called on agencies to disclose summaries of contracts.

Although the Board has issued a press release containing a link to the solicitation for the Recovery.gov website redesign, the information contained within both falls far short of providing sufficient details of the contract. Posting the Smartronix and CFI Federal contracts would be an important first step towards the transparency President Obama promised and that Americans deserve.

Sincerely,

Gary D. Bass
Executive Director, OMB Watch, on behalf of CAR

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OMB Watch is a nonprofit government watchdog organization dedicated to promoting government accountability, citizen participation in public policy decisions, and the use of fiscal and regulatory policy to serve the public interest. Learn more at www.ombwatch.org.

The Coalition for an Accountable Recovery was formed to promote accountability policies for both government agencies and companies that contract with or benefit from recovery spending. Learn more at www.accountablerecovery.net.