Government Contracts Monitor
Stimulus Oversight Officials Named, Expect to Find Fraud
March 26, 2009
Earl Devaney, a former Massachusetts police officer, Secret Service agent, and current Department of Interior Inspector General, was tapped to head the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, which will oversee the use of over $750 billion in funds allocated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Stimulus).
Mr. Devaney will be under intense pressure from Congress and the White House to prevent “fraud, waste, and abuse” in the use of stimulus funds. However, based on historical precedent, Mr. Devaney thinks it inevitable that at least some portion of stimulus funds will be used fraudulently. He recently commented to (audio) Rep. Denis Kucinich (D-OH), a member of the House Oversight Committee he is about to face:
“When I sat down and I did the math I was horrified . . . We have to expect [fraud]. I think we have to have a coordinated effort between law enforcement at the level and state and local law enforcement, with local prosecutors all over this county.”
Facing such pressures, Mr. Devaney has already begun to review contracts awarded with stimulus funds. Meanwhile, the Administration also announced that membership of the Board has been filled out.
On March 23rd, the White House announced that former Office of Management and Budget official, G. Edward DeSeve, had been appointed to work with OMB to implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). DeSeve’s focus will be managing interagency efforts to address provisions of the ARRA, with a focus on oversight issues.