What Makes a Great Team Member? This is so true! Our project management team, and some other people I know fit this description pe...
Stimulus jobs report, new functionality added to Recovery.gov
Share This -
How many jobs does $36.6 billion buy?
That was the question many were hoping to answer as the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency Board released reports detailing how
and where stimulus dollars were being spent. According to data released
on Friday, the answer is roughly 640,000, with the White House claiming
closer to one million.
Since the $787 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed in
February, just over $36.6 million has actually made its way to state
and local recipients in the form of loans, grants and contracts. But
many stimulus projects are in various stages of completion and most of
the money awarded has yet to be spent.
Little
more than one-fifth of the money awarded to state and local governments
has been spent, according to data available on Recovery.gov.
Furthermore, just over thirteen percent of all the money set aside for
contracts, grants and loans, for the life of the stimulus, has been
spent. And nearly half of all projects underway are “less than 50%
complete,” with seven percent (4, 110 of the nearly 57,000) of projects
“complete.” Still, White House officials say the first round of
reporting indicates the stimulus is working and that Obama
administration targets are being met.
“These reports are strong confirmation that the Recovery Act is
responsible for over one million jobs so far and we are on-track to
create and save 3.5 million jobs through the Recovery Act by the end of
next year,” Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement released by
the White House Friday.
The White House contention is that 640,000 jobs were created or
saved as a direct result of the federal government having “contract
authority,” to hire for projects. But when tax cuts, small business
lending, entitlements and indirect jobs (e.g. suppliers for stimulus
projects) are considered, over a million jobs have been created by the
Recovery Act since February.
In a related report (.pdf),
the White House also said that stimulus money was going, in large part,
to those states who needed it most. The report claims that the five
states with the highest unemployment before the Recovery Act was
passed, received more money – and have seen more jobs created per capita -
than the national average. Additionally, due to extended unemployment
benefits and increased payments, more indirect jobs were created than
could be captured in the recipient reports that were released on Friday.
In addition to the jobs report, Recovery.gov itself was the focus of
much attention. Recovery Board Chairman Earl E. Devaney announced new
features that allow users to search with more detail, summarize state
and territory spending, and download data in XML and XLS formats.
“I’ve often said that Recovery.gov is a work in progress and will
only get better as we continue pressing to develop a premier government
website,” Mr. Devaney said in comments posted to Recovery.gov. “Quite
frankly, we are listening to our users, and are making changes and
adding new features as fast as we can.”
In a blog posting
Friday, OMB Watch Senior Policy Analyst of Federal Fiscal Policy Craig
Jennings agreed there is room for improvement – praising the summaries
page, but blasting the search and data download functions.
“Bottom line: the new functionality moves the ball forward and we
are getting a better Recovery website. Of course we’d like to see more,
but things are moving down the field,” Mr. Jennings wrote.
To read the original article, click here. Or, go to CivSource to read the latest on how state and local leaders are delivering services through innovative use of technology.
Comment on this article
Only registered users can write comments. Please login or register.
