Accountability & Transparency

A key provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is regular public reporting on the status of projects, spending, and job creation and retention. The State of Iowa will make regular reports on the status of federal dollars to federal agencies, Congress and recovery.gov. This reporting will also include announcements for grant competitions, allocations of formula grants, and awards of competitive grants. The President's Council of Economic Advisors will report quarterly on the estimated impact on employment and economic growth.

Governor Culver is required to report the following to each federal agency that grants funds to Iowa:

• How the funds will be used
• Whether the funds were used as intended
• The number of jobs created/sustained by the funds
• Non-federal funding sources used to complete projects

Agency Working Groups

Iowa has formed an ARRA implementation working group comprised of representatives of two dozen state agencies to establish a coordinated process to (a) report on stimulus funds available to Iowa through various federal grants and (b) track the federal requirements and deadlines associated with the grants.

This multi-agency work group is lead by an executive work group. The executive work group is tasked with providing information gathered from the federal government, planning guidance and administrative support to the larger work group. The executive work group must also make reports to the Governor and Lt Governor on the progress of the ARRA in Iowa. Read the initial progress report presented to the Governor on April 14, 2009.

In addition, Iowa is one of 16 states that is participating in a special monitoring program with the United States General Accounting Office (GAO), adding further accountability and transparency to how these funds are being put to good use.

Stimulus Fraud Hotline

The GAO has created a stimulus fraud hotline, FraudNet, for citizens in all 50 states to report allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement of federal stimulus funds. The public can call 1-800-424-5454 or send an email to fraudnet@gao.gov. Additionally, www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm is also able to process allegations.

ARRA-Related Documents

• Iowa Sustainment Restoration and Modernization Projects
• State Fiscal Stabilization Funds application (May 1, 2009)
• Trade Adjustment Assistance program agreement
• Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act agreement
• Department of Justice Programs certifications
• ARRA Comprehensive Progress Report (April 14, 2009)
• GAO ARRA Report
• Executive Order #12 establishing the Accountability &Transparency Board
• Governor Culver’s Section 1607 Certification Letter to the Office of Management and Budget
• Governor Culver’s Certification to the Department of Justice for Byrne-JAG
• Governor Culver’s Section 1201 Certification Letter to the Department of Transportation
• Governors Culver’s Letter to Secretary Chu on State Energy Program
• Governor Culver’s Section 410 Assurance Letter Department of Energy for State Energy Program assistance

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