Recovery.gov, Architecture Data Schema, & Stimulus Reporting Issues

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Contents 1 Rating of this issue is closed 2 Issue Overview 3 Opportunity Space 4 Potential Next Steps 5 Sources Rating of this issue is closed Thank you for providing your ratings on this issue as a potential focus for an EITLC Priority Action Team. Results of voting and top issues will be announced shortly.

Issue Overview

In an attempt to jumpstart our economy, create jobs, and enable long-term economic growth, he American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Public_Law-111-5.pdf) was signed into law in February of 2009. The plans for, distribution of, and success of funds will be collected through FederalReporting.gov and visible to the public at Recovery.gov, creating a “user-friendly, public-facing website to foster greater accountability and transparency… a portal or gateway to key information relating to the Act” (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). Fund recipients receive an Excel spreadsheet template which they use to upload mandatory data to FederalReporting.gov, manually upload the data via keystrokes, or submit in the XML format supported by an XML schema. FederalReporting.gov went live the second week of August, 2009 for early recipient registration, and the first round of reporting begins October 1, 2009.

Features noted on Recovery.gov include:

• Weekly updates of the agencies' funding notifications and financial and activity reports
• Map presenting state-by-state funding
• Graphs charting the weekly progress of agencies’ made available and paid-out funds
• Map showing the recipients of funds and the resulting projects
• Written reports on the agencies' plans for where and how they'll spend the funds
• Information on Federal contracts, grants and loans
• A map illustrating the estimates of jobs to be created or saved and links to job information sites
• Links to State Recovery sites and other government Recovery sites
• Tools for the public to report for waste, fraud and abuse of recovery funds
• Oversight audits by the Inspectors General of each Agency

Opportunity Space

All users from Federal Agencies which either award or distribute funding, all users from organizations which receive funding (Prime Recipients), and all users from organizations which receive funds from Prime Recipients (Sub Recipients) whose Prime is not reporting on their behalf, must register with FederalReporting.gov must register and report data including total amount of funds received, amount spent, list of projects and activities funded as well as their status, estimates on jobs created or retained, and details on sub-awards/other payments (Overview Webinar: Implementing Guidance for the Reports on Use of Funds Pursuant to the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, July 20, 2009).

(Image from Overview Webinar: Implementing Guidance for the Reports on Use of Funds Pursuant to the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, July 20, 2009)

Potential Next Steps

As all State environmental agencies will have to participate in reporting under the Stimulus Act in some capacity, spanning dozens of data elements, the ability to identify best practices, tools, and resources has timely applicability.

Sources

• Recovery.gov
• Federalreporting.gov
• www.whitehouse.gov/Recovery/WebinarTrainingMaterials/
• Overview Webinar: Implementing Guidance for the Reports on Use of Funds Pursuant to the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, July 20, 2009