Feds Launch Stimulus Reporting Site

Recipients of federal stimulus funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act can begin Monday registering on a new site where they'll soon have to send detailed data on their spending.

The new site, FederalReporting.gov, will receive detailed stimulus spending data, which will then be posted to Recovery.gov on October 11.

The new site is designed with the goal of simplifying the reporting process, according to the Office of Management and Budget. "FederalReporting.gov will reduce [the] information reporting burden on recipients by simplifying reporting instructions and providing a user-friendly mechanism for submitting required data," OMB director Peter Orszag wrote in a June memo to federal agencies.

Any individual or organization receiving $25,000 or more of the $787 billion stimulus package must register and report their spending thus far on FederalReporting.gov by October 10, though the site won't begin accepting reports until October 1. After the first report, recipients must update their data quarterly.

Reports sent to FederalReporting.gov, which use standardized XML and Microsoft Excel templates, will include numerous data points about spending, down to the subcontractor level, including a detailed description of the award, the amount of money spent and received, the project scope and timetable, and the number and descriptions of jobs the project created thus far.

Federal agencies dispersing stimulus funds will use the site to review submissions and suggest fixes to errors and omissions within a short window of time after the reporting deadline. One confusing, incomplete submission to Recovery.gov last month showed the government spending $1.2 million on "2 pounds ham sliced."

The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, the federal agency set up to coordinate oversight of stimulus spending, anticipates between 150,000 and 200,000 stimulus recipients will file reports by October 10 and is urging recipients to register early to avoid missing the deadline in case of any problems.

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