DUers is this true?

[roseBudd]

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090223/EDIT01/902230308/1019/EDIT

Wild pork alert: Fire up the chopper!

A national news page carried an Associated Press story headlined "Stimulus recipients must report spending online."

It reported that President Obama's budget chief, Peter Orszag, has issued a lengthy document detailing how governments and agencies must start reporting how funds from the just-enacted $787 billion economic stimulus bill are being spent. The data will be displayed on a special administration Web site, www.recovery.gov.

Orszag's new "recovery" Web site - part of government's recent, welcome move toward providing at least a modicum of fiscal transparency (see www.usaspending.gov ) - would give ordinary folks some oversight to scan, track and target pork.

Hidden in Orszag's windy, jargony, 62-page, 25,000-word "Initial Implementing Guidance" is a lot of not-so-fine print.

As the public-interest reporting site www.propublica.org points out, federal agencies don't have to start issuing spending information until April 6, and those likely will only include raw totals, not broken down.

States won't have to start their quarterly reports until July 10, and while they have to break it down by project name, description, project jobs and more, there's a big catch - one that means we may never know exactly who ends up with much of the project money:

"For instance, a grant could be given from the federal government to State A, which then gives a subgrant to City B (within State A), which hires a contractor to construct a bridge, which then hires a subcontractor to supply the concrete," Orszag writes.

"In this case, State A is the prime recipient and would be required to report the subgrant to City B. However, City B does not have any specific reporting obligations, nor does the contractor or subcontractor ..."

[KharmaTrain]

1. And We Had An Accounting Of Contractor Money?

How many billion were thrown to boooshies buddies to "rebuild" New Orleans that never got anywhere near the area. And, of course, the "outsourcers" and military contractors who surely never wasted a single dime of taxpayer money...just palets of hundreds.

Oh the shame...billions of dollars are now going to end up in someone's pocket other than a banker or corporate. Will there be some graft with the large sum going out. No doubt there will, but it also will go to put millions to work or a few extra dollars in their pockets. At least with this spending, we'll end up with something to show for it...a better road or new school, compared to the coffins our previous spending bought.

[GeorgeGist]

2. And of course ...

there will be no accounting for the profit paid. But the average will be about 40% compounded annually.

[Cerridwen]

3. Oh, FFS. What is this? A LTTE from "Joe the LTTE 'writer'?"

OMG! Quarterly reports won't be required until...the end of the quarter!!!!!! OMG!!!!

First quarter of a 12 month calendar = Jan 1 through Mar 31
Second quarter of a 12 month calendar = Apr 1 through June 30 (1st quarterly report required 10 days later!!!!!!! OMG!!! 10 days to compile a report!!!! Arggghhhhhh!)

Who is responsible for filing weekly (yep, they gotta do weekly, too) reports and submit other documentation and REPORT it on their agency websites and submit documentation of how they're spending their money? The primary recipient!!!! OMG!!!!! The PRIMARY agency receiving the monies has to report!!!!!

In the meantime, all the little "joe the roofers" and "joe the plumbers" and all the other "joe the sub-contractors" are NOT required to submit documentation to the feds or post it on their website or submit additional documentation to the feds!!! The horror. Some "small" sub-contractor might be able to work on the job instead of submit reams of federal reports!!! Instead, the PRIMARY agency will have to include all that information in their report thereby eliminating a boat load of REDUNDANCY!!!! OMFG!!!!! The bureaucrats have eliminated some red-tape. STOP THE PRESSES!!! THE BLACK HELICOPTERS ARE COMING!!!!!

Read the gory, red-tape snipping, details in all their horror in the .pdf beginning page 14

Uh, just in case anyone needs it :sarcasm: and /a huge pile o' snark

[blondeatlast]

4. I'm a big fan of sanity, so to you...

:thumbsup:

[Cerridwen]

5. Thanks, blondeatlast.

The people who prey on others' ignorance are starting to get on my last nerve.

I'm busy enough keeping myself from succumbing to ignorance. Pisses me right the freak off when others wallow in it.

*mumble* *mumble* *grump* *grump* Hrumph!

[roseBudd]

7. It's worse than that it's Ray Cooklis the partisan editorial writer....

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090223/EDIT01/902230308

I encourage DUers to register and strat posting. This is SW Ohio and 2010 will be here before we know it.

Ohio is neither a safe state (CA, NY) or a not in play state (AL, MS) so anything you do to pitch in on an Ohio site is well worth it.

[Cerridwen]

6. Oh, and one more piece of information for that LTTE writer...

The reporting requirements of the *primary* agency include:

the following information to the Federal agency providing the award 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter, starting on July 10th.
These reports will include the following data elements, as prescribed by the Recovery Act:
(1) The total amount of recovery funds received from that agency;
(2) The amount of recovery funds received that were obligated and expended to projects or
activities. This reporting will also included unobligated Allotment balances to facilitate
reconciliations.
(3) A detailed list of all projects or activities for which recovery funds were obligated and
expended, including--
(A) The name of the project or activity;
(B) A description of the project or activity;
(C) An evaluation of the completion status of the project or activity;
(D) An estimate of the number of jobs created and the number of jobs retained by the
project or activity; and
(E) For infrastructure investments made by State and local governments, the purpose,
total cost, and rationale of the agency for funding the infrastructure investment with
funds made available under this Act, and name of the person to contact at the agency
if there are concerns with the infrastructure investment.
(4) Detailed information on any subcontracts or subgrants awarded by the recipient to include
the data elements required to comply with the Federal Funding Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-282), allowing aggregate reporting on awards below
$25,000 or to individuals, as prescribed by the Director of OMB.

All those little "joe the sub-contractors" will be reported by the *primary* agency receiving the funds.