Tech To Trap Stim Violators

New rules from the White House aimed at penalizing stimulus recipients who fail to report on their spending instruct agencies to probe a report-tracking database every day for potential offenders.

Agencies are now required to more frequently monitor recipient compliance by pulling data from FederalReporting.gov, the online mailbox in which recipients are supposed to file job creation reports. They are "to perform data quality reviews of the filed recipient reports and to determine if all award recipients on the [master list of agency awards] have fulfilled their Recovery Act [legal] reporting responsibilities," according to a May 4 memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget.

The rules complement a presidential memorandum issued in April that allows agencies to punish non-reporters by cutting off funds or debarring contractors, as appropriate.

Earl Devaney, the head of the board that oversees recovery spending, has long been concerned that the Recovery Act doesn't give him or agencies enough sticks to punish violators. Devaney posts on Recovery.gov, the public stimulus-tracking website, a running list of contractors and other organizations who have skipped the accountability part of their stimulus responsibilities.

Under the new rules, agencies also must contact new recipients before each reporting cycle to inform them of their reporting obligations, as well as follow up with prior recipients who have not reported.