PhillyTablet Inquirer Daily News
Mobile
Home Delivery
philly.com
email
font size
comments
4
options
 
Thursday, November 19, 2009

Obama official responds to stimulus critics

Yesterday, we reported that the GOP was slamming President Obama for mistakes on Recovery.gov, the website where the public can track $787 billion in stimulus funding. The site lists projects in non-existent congressional districts. Today, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a response from the Obama Administration.

According to Ed Pound, a spokesman for the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, the problem didn't originate with the federal government.

Pound said recipients of the money are to blame for the misreporting.

They are required to file detailed quarterly reports on money they receive, to a private government Web site called FederalReporting.gov. The reporting forms include nearly 100 blanks recipients must fill in, including the congressional district in which the money will be spent.

Those reports automatically transfer to the public Web site, Recovery.gov — unaltered or reviewed by anyone with the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, or anyone else in government, Pound said.

"Nobody is playing with this data. There is no manipulation. What you have is recipients filing information that is incorrect. You're dealing with human beings, and human beings make mistakes," Pound said.

What do think? Do you buy this explanation or is there more to the story? Let us know in the comments section!

Review city services on our sister site, City Howl.
Posted by Ben Waxman @ 4:04 PM  Permalink | 4 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:31 PM, 11/19/2009
    I think it is a slap in the face of people to have the office of the President give a lame answer like that. So basically, the government just up-loads whatever "human errors" they get and check none of it out to insure it is accurate. And these are the same people who will be handling the Health Care system which will operate in a simialr fashion. Obama and his crew are now neck and neck in incompetance with Bush.
    — reddog44
  • Comment removed.
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:57 AM, 11/20/2009
    Does Obama take responsibility for any of his many mistakes? The stimulus bill did nothing to help our economy. The real estate market really sucks and unemployment keeps getting higher. Is it always the GOP's fault? Just wondering.
    — chrissmith


4 comments
About It's Our Money
Every year, city government spends slightly more than $4 billion. Where does all that money come from? More importantly, where does it go? Are we getting the most bang for our tax buck? “It's Our Money” is a joint project between Philadelphia Daily News and WHYY, funded by the William Penn Foundation, designed to answer these questions.




MONEY AND JUSTICE DON'T MIX

City Hall

Imagine you're appearing in court, about a matter that's very important to you. You've never seen the judge before. But the attorney for the opposition has given his Honor thousands of dollars in campaign donations, which helped the judge become a judge in the first place.


ILLEGALLY PARKED TRUCK? CITY PASSES THE BUCK

City Howl

Randy Malone has a backhoe problem.


WILL THE NEW COUNCIL GIVE YOU A SAY?

 podcast

On this week's It's Our Money podcast, we talk with Zack Stalberg, president of government watchdog Committee of Seventy, about public comment in Council.

It's Our Money contributors

Tips? Comments? Questions?
Contact:

Doron Taussig:
215-854-5307
doron.taussig@gmail.com
@dorontaussig

Holly Otterbein:
215-854-5809
hm.otterbein@gmail.com
@hollyotterbein

Juliana Reyes:
215-854-5855
juliana.f.reyes@gmail.com
@juliana_f_reyes

Follow on Twitter

Advertise Here