Compu-Forensics Saves Stim & Devaney

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at a hearing the other day criticized the head of the board overseeing stimulus spending for being unable to cite an instance where the board's analytical software prevented fraud and abuse.

Describing what hasn't happened?

"That's a difficult metric to talk about," replied Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.

He was testifying on Tuesday before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on how the administration is using data-mining tools to cut improper payments.

Most of the significant cases the technology has helped uncover are among roughly 350 active criminal investigations, none of which are complete, Devaney explained.

"The program's been going on for a year and a half and you haven't completed one?" McCain asked. "Not one completed . . . That doesn't inspire confidence in me."

But Devaney didn't remain stumped for long. With a little prodding by Sen. Thomas R. Carper, a Delaware Democrat, Devaney noted that the analysis has resulted in the following:

• One federal agency canceled a research grant to a company after his staff discovered that the recipient had been previously debarred from receiving federal funds
• And an agency cancelled a company's contracts worth more than $7 million after his staff's analysis showed that the recipient had been debarred.