"Recovery.gov", eh?
Well, here is a phrase from HR-1, that bears thinking about:
"...[an oversight board reporting to Congress] to coordinate and conduct oversight of Federal spending under this Act to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse"
Ignoring the irony of asking Congress to police waste, fraud, and abuse, what are the assurances that something like Boston's "Big Dig" won't be repeated?
More precisely, what puts the teeth into "prevent" in that phrase?
From what I see, the Board is not empowered to stop a project. The IG and others are empowered to review and to audit - but those aren't necessarily preventative, are they? What are the penalties for "waste", discovered after-the-fact? "Abuse"?
There are people who know more than I, certainly, about the many types of projects funded and why this structure may have been set-up. Let them speak.
