Issa Calls for Asterisk Warning Visitors on Recovery.Gov

Administration Promised Accuracy in October but Disowns Numbers Today

Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) Letter to Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board Earl Devaney:  “Are you able to certify personally that the number of jobs reported as “created/saved” on www.recovery.gov is accurate and auditable?  If you are unable to do so, will you commit to incorporating some kind of qualifying information such as an asterisk or footnote to accompany the presentation of this information, warning visitors to the web site that the information is no accurate and auditable?”

 As a result, whatever problems the early and partial data had, the full data to be posted on Friday will provide the American people with an accurate, detailed look at the early success of the Recovery Act.” – Statement from Ed DeSeve, Senior Advisor to the President for Recovery Act Implementation on October 29, 2009:

Riverside Press Enterprise, 11/17/2009: Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board spokesman Ed Pound said Monday that the board has never hidden the fact that there would be some inaccuracies in the reporting; noting that some reported job totals had been omitted because of unrealistic data.“We’re not going to certify these numbers. That’s not our job,” Pound said, noting the massive amount of information involved and the inevitability of some reporting mistakes. “We can’t go through every report …and interview every recipient.”‘

Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) in Huffington Post, 11/17/2009: “Credibility counts in government and stupid mistakes like this undermine it. We’ve got too many serious problems in this country to let that happen,” Obey said in a statement. “Whether the numbers are good news or bad news, I want the honest numbers and I want them now.” Obey demanded a commitment from the executive branch that they would “work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes.” Congress and the public should be able to trust reports by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency (RAT) Board, he said.