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Stimulus Act Will Bring Long-Term Change in Accountability (Opinion)

June 19, 2009 By Paul W. Taylor

The $787 billion federal economic stimulus package -- is new as government programs go, but it proves an old adage: There's nothing as permanent as a temporary program.

At 1,100 eye-straining pages, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) hit the table with an impressive thud. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), working with the 15 federal agencies tapped to serve as administrators in their respective areas of expertise, has followed up with a steady stream of guidance and regulation.

While the feds avoided the mistake of creating a whole new bureaucracy in favor of using existing agencies, programs and funding streams, there's no lack of complexity to ARRA. After all, there are 215 funding lines and 86 existing grant programs involved in implementing the act, all of which are being re-created in whole or in part for the stimulus.

By definition, there is urgency to stimulus. It exists to kick-start a stalled economy. But the same White House that brought us the stimulus is also promising to spend it quickly, wisely and transparently -- qualities that too often can prove mutually exclusive.

By the end of September, the OMB will issue new contracting guidelines to ensure fair, full and open competition with the likely effect (and unintended consequence) of attenuating the process of moving the money. Assuming you can get to the goods and services you want in a timely fashion, there's a growing recognition that being "shovel ready" is necessary but not sufficient in making strategic investments. Building the modern equivalent of the Hoover Dam is a much different proposition than filling potholes -- both are worthy public goods, but their respective results are categorically different.

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ARRA Administrative Costs: NASACT Audio Conference

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