Yesterday we wrote about some deadlines in the stimulus package requiring federal agencies to submit reports to Congress and publish guidelines for new programs.
Some of the reports have trickled in -- 10 of 17 -- but others remain MIA.
For example, the recovery act required the president to report to Congress about how the agencies are complying with environmental rules. On Friday, President Obama delegated that responsibility to the chair of the Council on Environmental Quality. But the report has not been made public yet.
Also, the Health and Human Services department was supposed to explain a new program establishing regional centers for health information technology by posting a notice in the federal register. We checked but didn't find anything.
The Obama administration has also posted a slew of plans on Recovery.gov, describing in broad terms how federal agencies will spend the stimulus money. The reports explain the programs in general and give a schedule for when contracts and grants will be awarded.
While these plans are different from the ones required by Congress, some of them answer the same questions. So we’ve added them to the chart below.
| Department | What the Law Requires | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | The secretary shall submit a report on the planned spending and obligations describing the use of distance learning, telemedicine and broadband funds to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. | Here is the report. |
| Commerce | The assistant secretary for communications and information shall submit a report on the status of the broadband program to the House and Senate Appropriations committees, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee. | Here is the report. |
| Corporation for National and Community Service | The CEO shall provide to the House and Senate Appropriations committees a FY2009 operating plan for the funds. | Here are the plans: |
| General Services Administration | The administrator must submit a plan to the House and Senate Appropriations committees that details the current inventory of federal vehicles and the strategy to replace the fleet with the goal of increasing energy efficiency and reducing emissions. | Here is the plan. |
| Health and Human Services | The secretary shall provide an operating plan detailing activities and timelines for health resources and services funds to the House and Senate Appropriation committees. | A spokesman said the department is on track to meet the deadline but has not made the plan publicly available. |
| Health and Human Services | The secretary shall provide an operation plan to the House and Senate Appropriations committee on the prevention and wellness fund, including prevention priorities to be addressed, measurable goals for each priority, the allocation of resources and which programs or activities are supported, with descriptions of any new ones. | A spokesman said the department is on track to meet the deadline but has not made the plan publicly available. |
| Health and Human Services | The secretary shall publish in the federal register a draft of the description of the program for establishing regional centers for health information technology, including a detailed explanation of the program and the goals and procedures to be followed. | This deadline has not been met. |
| Health and Human Services | The Health Information Technology Standards Committee shall develop a schedule to assess policy recommendations and publish it in the federal register. | This deadline has not been met. |
| Labor | The secretary shall implement a system to collect data on adversely affected workers in the service sector that includes the number of workers by state and industry | The department has not responded to requests checking the status. |
| Labor | The secretary shall develop a methodology to distribute funds among the intermediary organizations providing training to workers who lose their jobs because of increased imports. | The department has not responded to requests checking the status. |
| National Endowment for the Arts | Each agency receiving funds shall submit to the House and Senate Appropriations committees a report containing detailed project level information. | Here is the report. |
| President | The president shall report to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee on the status and progress of projects and activities funded by the stimulus with respect to compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. | On Friday, the president assigned this duty to his Council on Environmental Quality. The report has not been made public yet. |
| State | The secretary shall submit to the House and Senate Appropriations committees a detailed spending plan of the passport and training funds. | Here is the plan. |
| State | The secretary shall submit to the House and Senate Appropriations committees a detailed spending plan of the International Boundary and Water Commission funds. | Here is the plan. |
| Transportation | The secretary shall publish criteria for competitive grants awarded under the national surface transportation system grants program. | Here is the criteria |
| Transportation | Each grant recipient shall submit to DOT a report, including the amount of funds appropriated, allocated, obligated and outlayed; the number of projects that are out to bid, for which contracts have been awarded and for which work has begun and been completed; the number of direct jobs created or sustained and, to the extent possible, the number of indirect jobs. | Here is the report. |
| U.S. Agency for International Development | The secretary of state and administrator of USAID shall submit to the House and Senate Appropriations committees a detailed spending plan for the capital investment fund for information technology security. | Here is the plan. |
