Preceding Danielle Brian, Executive Director of the Project and Government Oversight and Coalition for an Accountable Recovery's steering committee member, Gary told the panel:

The challenge in creating a system for the implementation of the Recovery Act transparency is to make a simple structure by which recipients of stimulus funds answerable to taxpayers. To create such a system, those recipients must be able to enumerate what services or goods they provided to the nation, the state, and the local communities in which they work while explaining the degree of success of the projects they undertook. The government has the obligation to taxpayers to ensure that recipients are efficient in the delivery of the services or goods they were trusted to deliver.

Without a system that creates incentives that aligns the goals of the Recovery Act with those of who receive funds to implement it, it is quite likely this effort will fall short. And without knowing what every recipient is doing with the funds that they receive, it is impossible to find instances of waste, fraud, and abuse. Nor is it possible to discover those recipients that are exceptional stewards of the nation’s resources and deserve recognition for their work and additional opportunities to serve their country.