With nary a vote from the Republican side of the aisle, House Democrats approved a gigantic spending and tax package 244-188. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR 1) calls for some $544 billion in spending, including a $3 billion transit provision added as amendment, and $275 in tax cuts.

While press coverage of the bill has (rightly) been consumed with the fact of the Republican-free vote and details of the spending and tax provisions, I would hasten to add that the bill also contains largely unprecedented transparency and accountability language that is going to enable policy makers, the general public, and the press to track how and where these funds will eventually be doled out.

In this week's Watcher, we take a look at the transparency and accountability language in some detail, but the primary vehicle for these provisions would be a website, Recovery.gov, that would:

• A database of findings from audits, inspectors general, and the Government Accountability Office
• Data on relevant economic, financial, grant, and contract information in user-friendly visual presentations
• Detailed data on contracts awarded by the government for purposes of carrying out the law, including information about the competitiveness of the contracting process
• A means for the public to give feedback on the performance of contracts awarded

The "what" of the stimulus is covered rather well in these articles:

The Wall Street Journal: "House Passes Stimulus Package"
Congressional Quarterly (via Yahoo!): "Stimulus Measure Moves to Senate"

And the "how" is covered sufficiently here:

The New York Times: "House Passes Stimulus Plan Despite G.O.P. Opposition"
The Washington Post: "House Passes Obama Stimulus Package"

Image by Flickr user afagen used under a Creative Commons license.