Recovery.gov - Track the Money

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ABC

Agency

One of 28 federal departments reporting directly to the Executive Branch. Each agency is headed by a Secretary appointed by the President. 

Agency Financial and Activity Reports

Since March 3rd, 2008, agencies receiving Recovery Act funds have been submitting weekly reports detailing their activities. These reports give regular updates to government officials, Congress, and the public on how much is being spent and on what.

Agency Funding Notification Reports

Details of agencies’ intentions to make funding available.

Agency Program Plans

Summaries of individual plans detailed in the agencies’ overall Recovery Plans.

Agency Recovery Plans

Descriptions of each agency’s broad Recovery Act goals.

Allocated

Funds that have been set aside for a specific purpose.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) is a $787 billion economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009. A percentage of the package targets spending (contracts, grants, and loans) and the rest includes tax cuts and entitlements such as Medicaid and Social Security Administration payments.

Appropriation

A legal provision authorizing the spending of funds for a specific purpose.

Award

A contract, grant, or loan.

Budget Account

An account created to manage regular, budgeted expenditures.

Budget Function

One of 20 general-subject categories into which budgetary resources are grouped so that all budget authority and outlays can be presented according to the national interests being addressed. There are 17 broad budget functions, including national defense, international affairs, energy, agriculture, health, income security, and general government. Three other functions—net interest, allowances, and undistributed offsetting receipts—are included to complete the budget.

Bureau

The principal subordinate organizational unit of an agency.

Council of Economic Advisors

An agency within the Executive Office of the President responsible for providing objective economic advice to the President. The CEA is comprised of a chair and two members, and is supported by a staff of professional senior economists, staff economists and research assistants, as well as a statistical office.

Cost-plus contract

Pays for allowed expenses plus additional payment to allow for profit.

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DEF

Direct Payments

Financial assistance from the federal government provided directly to individuals, private firms, and other private institutions.

Entitlements

An entitlement is a direct payment. Examples include activities such as entitlement payments made directly for individuals, or other large volume transactions, such as food stamps, housing loans and flood insurance.

Federal Procurement Data System (fpds.gov)

Collects and maintains information on federal contracts.

Firm-fixed Price Contract

A fixed amount paid that will not change under any circumstances.

Fiscal Year (FY)

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following calendar year.

Funding Notification Reports

Details of agencies’ funds made available for specific programs.

Fund

A sum of money appropriated by a federal agency for a specific use.

Funds Announced

Funds that have been publicly announced as available to entities outside of the federal government.  Not all available funds are announced publicly. For example,  the funds going to a project started prior to the Recovery Act that are commingled with the project’s Recovery funds will not be announced publicly before being made available to a recipient).  The Funds Announced figure should not be viewed as the total funding that an agency has made available.

Funds Available (Obligation)

The term used to describe when an agency informs the public of the release of money to recipients either immediately or in the future.

Funds Paid Out (Gross Outlay)

Funds that have been released from a federal agency to a recipient.

Fraud

The use of intentional deception or false representation for undeserved monetary gains by an individual or organizational entity.

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GHI

Geocoding

The process of assigning a latitude and longitutde to a specific location, such as a street address or zip code.

Google Translate

A beta service provided by Google Inc. to translate text and websites into different languages.

Government Accountability Office

An independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars.

Grant

An award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public project or service authorized by a law of the United States. Federal grants are not federal assistance or loans to individuals.

Gross Outlays

Cash (currency, checks, or electronic fund transfers) or debt instruments (bonds, debentures, notes, or monetary credits) used to pay obligations.

Honorable

Used as a title of respect for certain senior government officials including secretaries of agencies, the comptroller general, and inspectors general.

Inspector General (IG)

An independent official in a federal agency responsible for oversight of federal funds and how the agency can minimize fraud, waste, and abuse.

Inspector General Finding

A review by each IG of Recovery-related projects and programs to ensure that they meet legal and administrative requirements.

Inspector General Recovery Plan

An outline of an Inspector General’s strategies for evaluating the practicality and comprehensiveness of the agency’s spending plan; for ensuring that the agency's Recovery programs comply with established program plans; and for determining if goals for individual initiatives were achieved.(LINK)

Inspector General Status Report

Periodic status report on the IG’s oversight costs, major Recovery-related actions to date, and actions planned.

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JKL

Loan

The temporary provision of funds from a federal agency to a recipient.

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MNO

Obligation

A binding agreement that requires the government to make payments immediately or in the future.

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PQR

Place of Performance

The location of a project. In most cases the company and the project are in the same state, but they may not be in the same city. There are instances when a company based in one state has a project in another state. For example, a company with headquarters in the South may have a project in the Midwest or Northeast.

Prime recipient

A non-federal entity that receives Recovery Act funding in the form of a contract, grant, or loan, directly from the federal government.

Project

A specific activity of an award. (Awards are comprised of contracts, grants, and loans.)

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STU

Sub-recipient

A non-federal entity awarded Recovery funding from a prime recipient to support a project or program for which the prime recipient received Recovery funding.

Time and materials contract

Pays for labor hours at specified rates and materials at cost.

Total Compensation

The cash and noncash dollar value earned by an executive during the recipient’s past fiscal year. An entity receiving Recovery Act funds is required to report the names and total compensation of the five most highly compensated officers of the entity if: (1) the recipient in its preceding fiscal year received (a) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues in federal awards, and (b) $25,000,000or more in annual gross revenues from federal awards and (2) the public does not have access to information about the compensation of the senior executives of the entity through periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

USAspending.gov

Collects information on federal contracts, grants, loans, and spending across agencies.

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Vendor

A dealer, distributor, merchant, or other seller providing goods or services for a federal program. Prime-recipients and sub-recipients may purchase goods or services needed to carry out the project or program from vendors.

Waste

The spending of funds in an inefficient, excessive, or inappropriate manner.

Whistleblower

A person who has been unlawfully reprised against.

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Synonyms

• Obligation / Made Available
• Paid Out / Gross Outlay