White House names new Recovery Board chief

The White House announced Friday that Kathleen Tighe would take over as head of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, replacing Earl Devaney, who will retire on Dec. 31.

The Recovery Board oversees more than $800 million in agency spending authorized under the 2009 Recovery Act.

Tighe, who currently serves on the board, is the inspector general at the Education Department. Before taking that position in March 2010, she was deputy IG at the Agriculture Department. She also has served as counsel to the IG at the General Services Administration and as a trial attorney at the Justice Department.

Tighe will continue to work at Education after she assumes the Recovery Board Post.

Devaney announced earlier this month that he would leave the top Recovery Board post at the end of the year. He is credited with shifting the focus away from tracking down fraud in federal spending after it occurs to proactively monitoring funds as they are disbursed.

"Under Earl Devaney's leadership, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board became a model for government oversight - ensuring that Recovery Act dollars were distributed efficiently and effectively across the country. He will be greatly missed," said Biden. "I'm confident that Kathleen Tighe will continue to hold the board to the high standards set by Earl as the Recovery Act's top watchdog."