Republicans band together to monitor stimulus spending
GOP senators want to ensure the money is used for its intended purposes.
Senate Republicans announced Thursday they will form an unofficial group to track spending from the $780 billion stimulus package.
Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said Republican Conference Vice Chairman John Thune of South Dakota and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Oversight Subcommittee ranking member George Voinovich of Ohio will head up the GOP group.
Voinovich said that while all but three Republican senators voted against the stimulus, they want the money "spent the way it's supposed to be spent." Alexander said the Republican Conference will likely hold hearings on stimulus spending similar to those it had last year on offshore oil and gas drilling.
The Republicans would not have subpoena power to compel testimony, but Voinovich said they would take steps such as asking the Office of Management and Budget to study whether federal agencies that get a sharp, temporary increase in funds under the stimulus have the capacity to manage the money.