Told You So – Federal Officials Lose Faith in Recovery.gov

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 4:26 PM by Renae Bartusch

Remember when President Obama promised we would be able to track “every dime” that was paid out under the “stimulus?”  We have detailed time and again how his administration has repeatedly fallen flat on this promise. And now, Washington officials – even members of his own party – are saying the data available on Recovery.gov has made the “stimulus” spending anything but transparent.

One newspaper in Massachusetts had had enough of the empty promises, and decided to take its “stimulus” transparency questions to the source – Washington bureaucrats. The Patriot Ledger started with the man tasked with “stimulus” oversight, the Vice President, asking his office: “How come the public can’t get a complete picture from the government’s website?” His office refused to answer the question. Moving on to their congressional delegates, both Senators from the Bay State declined to be interviewed by Representatives Stephen Lynch and Bill Delahunt agreed to comment.

Representative Stephen Lynch (D-Ma) offered: “You can put the numbers out there, but if they’re not usable and they are presented in a very complex way, it doesn’t help.”  He goes on to say that the information is overwhelming for someone who wants to get a general grasp on the spending.  Rep. Lynch says President Obama’s pledge for transparency was “honest and well intended.”  That is all fine and good but when it comes down to the result, taxpayers are hoping for a better return on the $18 million shelled out for the website than “good intentions.”

The newspaper also interviewed a White House official, who defended the opacity of the “stimulus” tracking site by claiming the data dumped onto the portal was really intended for more “sophisticated” users. In other words, not only are taxpayers not getting to see where their money is being spent, but the administration thinks they’re too dumb to care anyway. Moreover, the President’s transparency pledge didn’t come with a disclaimer; the promise that taxpayers could track “every dime” wasn’t contingent on holding a masters degree in computer science.

Absent from both the administration and the statements from the representatives interviewed is a defense of what the website was actually supposed to do – show taxpayers where their hard-earned dollars were going. Shocking.

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