We're still going through the recipient reports the Recovery Board released today, but here's one early reaction: the Coalition for an Accountable Recovery (CAR), of which OMB Watch is a co-chair, released a statement on the recipient reports. Gary Bass, OMB Watch's executive director, summed up our feelings rather well:

"The Recovery Act is proving to be the most transparent federal spending law ever enacted," said Gary D. Bass, executive director of OMB Watch. "It is a watershed because the Obama administration has successfully created a new reporting system that requires recipients of Recovery Act funds to report in a timely manner how they are using federal resources. Unfortunately, the Recovery.gov website is an ineffective and inadequate tool for understanding the very small share of Recovery Act dollars reported today."

In other words, it's a great first step, but there's a long road ahead of us. The full release is available here, and is well worth a read.