Report Grades States on ARRA Web Sites

Washington, Feb. 2 – When President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law almost one year ago, he vowed the $787 billion package of grants, loans and other federal assistance would be distributed with “unprecedented transparency and accountability” so as to prevent waste, fraud and abuse of the landmark spending program. Since then, federal agencies have scrambled to make good on that pledge by implementing strict regulations to track the funds, and grantees have reported their expenditures in greater detail than ever before.

But according to a recent report from a government watchdog group, achieving accountability and transparency in ARRA spending doesn’t end there. Good Jobs First, a nonprofit resource center devoted to government and corporate accountability, argues that state governments also have a vital role to play in informing grantseekers and the public about how stimulus dollars are being spent in their respective states.