Stimulus Reporting Process Starts

Stimulus money recipients can start on Monday the process of reporting their spending and job creation statistics to the public.

FederalReporting.gov, a password-protected data collection site, will allow recipients next week to register for submitting spending reports. That data will feed into maps, charts, downloadable data sets and other interactive features coming soon to Recovery.gov, the official stimulus watchdog Web site. On Oct. 1, fund recipients will actually be able to fill out the reports, which are due on Oct. 10. Between 150,000 and 200,000 entities are expected to file.

The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, which manages both sites is working with IT services company CGI Federal to finish FederalReporting.gov and partnering with Web services firm Smartronix to remake Recovery.gov. Each is scheduled to be in full operation by late October.

"To meet our dual mission of accountability and transparency we must post this data immediately on our new Recovery.gov 2.0 Web site, which will be far more complete and user-friendly," said Board Chairman Earl Devaney.

Fund recipients must report through FederalReporting quarterly from then on out. Reports will include the amount of money they received and spent, the scope and timetable of projects, and the number of jobs created.

States and local governments, contractors, universities, nonprofits and others parties that have received a grant, loan or contract worth $25,000 or more under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are required to register. Board officials compared the ease of registration to the process of buying a product online. But before registering, recipients must obtain a business identification number, called a DUNS number and must be part of the government's central contractor registration database.