The independent agency responsible for stimulus oversight has unveiled a refurbished version of Recovery.gov, the official Web site for tracking stimulus money. The revamped site has more maps and more data, but its real test will come at the end of October, when spending reports from hundreds of thousands of stimulus money recipients are due to be posted — a key test for the Obama administration’s promise of stimulus transparency and accountability.
Reviews of the updated site are lukewarm. Federal Timespoints out that it’s still hard to use the site’s search tools to find out how much stimulus money has gone to a specific contractor. OMB Watch adds that while the site lists non-competitive contracts that have been awarded, that list doesn’t include an award identification number, making it hard to get more information.
The Wall Street Journalnotes that the site still doesn’t include how much stimulus money each federal agency got in the first place. (Luckily, dear reader, we’ve found that information for you, and posted it on our Stimulus Progress Bar.)
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