Watchdog Groups Speak Out on Recovery Act Data

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Organizations associated with
States for a Transparent and Accountable Recovery (the STAR Coalition) have
been scrutinizing the first round of Recovery Act (ARRA) recipient data
released October 30 at the federal Recovery.gov website. Here is a synopsis of
some of their initial reactions at both the national and state level.

Good Jobs First, which coordinates the STAR Coalition, is examining the data
from a national perspective. It finds evidence indicating that many recipients
under-reported their job creation and retention. For example, more than 2,000
contract and grant projects are between 50 and 100 percent completed, yet they
report zero jobs. It also finds inconsistencies between the Recovery.gov data
and ARRA reports at the USASpending.gov website. Blog posts on these and other
ARRA topics: http://www.accountablerecovery.org/blog

California: The Center on Policy Initiatives (CPI), a member of the California
Green Stimulus Coalition, states that ARRA is a landmark in government
transparency, but there are limitations in the usefulness of the data. For
example, it points out that the state's largest program in terms of jobs
creation/retention (53,390 jobs) is the education grant for state fiscal
stabilization. However, all of these jobs are geographically attributed to
Sacramento County, making it impossible to determine how many education jobs
were created or saved in different counties or school districts. Complete
statement:
http://www.accountablerecovery.org/star-coalition-reactions-october-30-data

Florida: Miami Workers Center, Research Institute for Social and Economic
Policy, and Kirwan Institute note that the tracking guidelines established by
the Office of Management and Budget have significant shortcomings that will
make it difficult for the public to understand the impact of Recovery Act
spending. Critical information--such as the quality of jobs created, who
benefits from the jobs, and how well the work was performed--is absent from
Recovery Act data collection. Complete statement:
http://www.accountablerecovery.org/star-coalition-reactions-october-30-data

Kentucky: Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, focusing on transportation, energy
and weatherization stimulus funds, is concerned about the lack of adequate
information about Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant dollars. Of
the 20 local governments in the state that applied for EECBG funds allocated
to them directly from the federal government, only 10 have been awarded the
money. It is unclear where the process stands for the remaining 10
localities. Complete statement:
http://www.accountablerecovery.org/star-coalition-reactions-october-30-data

New York: Good Jobs New York notes that the October 30 data represent a
breakthrough in transparency but has concerns about the quality of the data.
It points to problems in the location information, especially the fact that
the state's education jobs saved by ARRA are listed as if they are all in the
state capital Albany. It calls for more data on job recipients. Complete
statement:
http://www.accountablerecovery.org/star-coalition-reactions-october-30-data

Ohio: Policy Matters Ohio is concerned about the dire employment situation in
its states and is looking for evidence that ARRA is helping. The group is
paying special attention to transportation funding. It is pleased with the
information disclosed by the state highway projects, but it points to the
absence of complete contractor and subcontractor information in the
Recovery.gov data. Complete statement:
http://www.accountablerecovery.org/star-coalition-reactions-october-30-data

Texas: Texas Impact is excited to see the tangible effects of the Recovery Act
in Texas, such as the expansion of the American Youthworks green jobs training
program. But it hastens to add that the lack of performance and equity metrics
make it difficult to determine whether Texas is making gains on the state's
unique priorities and needs.

Contact Michelle Lee 202-232-1616 ext 210 or mlee@goodjobsfirst.org

SOURCE States for a Transparent and Accountable Recovery

Michelle Lee, +1-202-232-1616 ext 210, mlee@goodjobsfirst.org