TOPICS
TOPICS
Bill gives state and local governments more stimulus flexibility
Key members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have formally introduced legislation to provide state and local governments with increased flexibility to spend Recovery Act funds.
The legislation addresses several concerns that were raised during recent committee hearings on implementation of the economic stimulus package. It would allow state and local governments to set aside 0.5 percent of their Recovery Act dollars "to conduct planning and oversight to prevent and detect waste, fraud and abuse.''
The Recovery Act already instructs agencies to "reasonably adjust" or increase the amount of federal money that state and local governments are allowed to spend on administrative expenses, such as the data collection requirements outlined in the bill. But the new legislation adds audits, and planning, management and oversight of contracts and grants to the list of covered administrative activities, according to Jenny Rosenberg, spokeswoman for Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., chairman of the committee and one of the bill's sponsors.
Similar language was included in a bill (H.R. 1911) Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., introduced earlier this month. Connolly co-sponsored Towns' legislation, along with Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee; Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio; Todd Platts, R-Pa.; and Peter Welch, D-Vt.
The bill also permits state and local governments to use pre-negotiated contracts on the General Services Administration's multiple award schedules for economic stimulus projects. Towns made the cooperative purchasing announcement during a procurement conference in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday.
A third provision requires Office of Management and Budget Director Peter R. Orszag to issue detailed guidance to state and local governments on how they should define and report "jobs created" and "jobs retained" using Recovery Act funds.
OMB is planning to issue guidance in early May establishing standard procedures for calculating jobs creation, Vice President Joe Biden said in a letter last week to the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
COMMENTS
- I think they have plenty of flexibility as it is! I read my hometown newspaper every day on line and it is amazing what they are planning on doing with this money as it is -don't give them further latitude to blow it! Kathy Posted May 5, 2009 8:30 AM
- Why not buy the staes large nets and when the $$ are flushed down the toilet they can catch them dan ketter Posted May 1, 2009 12:29 PM
- Someone should point out to the Missouri state Republican representatives (and only them, by the way) that nowhere in any of the stimulus package information is there anything about a tax cut (which works out to about $2.50 a week for the "average" taxpayer). Somehow they're convinced that that is more of a stimulus than a job for someone who doesn't have one. Michelle Posted May 1, 2009 10:57 AM
