FederalTransparency.gov, launched in November 2010, is the third website created and operated by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board. The Recovery Board was established in February 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to promote accountability and transparency in the $787 billion Recovery program. The Board oversees the use of Recovery funds to prevent fraud, waste and mismanagement. It manages Recovery.gov, which provides accurate, user friendly information on the Recovery program.
FederalTransparency.gov tracks spending and jobs financed by the $10 billion Education Jobs Fund program. That fund was created by Congress in August 2010 to provide a financial lifeline to school districts around the country. Even though the Education Jobs Fund program is not part of the Recovery Act, Congress directed the Board to keep a close watch on the funds.
To avoid confusion with Recovery.gov, which tracks Recovery spending, the Board created FederalTransparency.gov. Recipients of money under the Education Jobs Fund submit quarterly reports on their spending on FederalReporting.gov, a password-protected Board website that then transfers the data to FederalTransparency.gov for public review. FederalReporting.gov also collects data from recipients of federal contracts, grants and loans funded by the Recovery Act.
FederalTransparency.gov provides basic information on the Education Jobs Fund program such as the total amount awarded to each state and territorial recipient, the amount of money received, the number of jobs funded, and the status of projects. The website also has some of the same features as Recovery.gov, including an interactive map and details on funding received and spent by sub-recipient local school districts.
Education Jobs Fund reports were first collected for the period ending September 30, 2010, and subsequently will be collected quarterly on the FederalReporting.gov website. The money under the program was distributed to states by a formula based on population figures. The states then distributed the money based on their primary funding formula or the formula they use to distribute Title 1 funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
FederalTransparency.gov will be used to display data for any other spending program that Congress might ask the Board to monitor in the future.
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