Transparency & accountability in 'stimulus' spending

By Richard Eckstrom
Comptroller General

In pushing his massive spending bill, the new president more than once reminded Congressional Republicans that it was he who won in November. And indeed, Barack Obama won decisively in the presidential election.

But the president should remember that the Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives were also elected by the people they represent. And those people expect that their only representative in the U.S. House will carefully consider the consequences of Obama’s colossal and unprecedented spending plan -- which no one is sure will work but everyone seems to agree will saddle future generations with enormous debt -- and cast an honest vote on the issue.

The “stimulus” debate was not our finest hour. Discourse suffered. One prominent conservative talk show host suggested he hopes the new president failed, while the new president kept talking about the fact that he “won” -- as if his winning the presidency meant the party out of power should abdicate their responsibility to impartially represent their constituents back home. Barack Obama admonished Republicans that “the time for action is now.”

Although there is certainly an urgency to stimulate the stalled economy, one can be forgiven for thinking lawmakers should carefully deliberate on a $1 trillion spending plan.

Regardless of which side of the “stimulus” debate you were on, we must hope it is successful. And for it to be successful, people must be assured the federal money is going to its intended purpose. There must be accountability and transparency.Our leaders are now charged with ensuring that all federal “stimulus” dollars are spent the way they are intended. For our part, the Comptroller General’s Office has developed a system to track the money every step of the way -- from Washington, DC to the state agencies and the cities, counties and school districts set to receive the money. Specifically, we're finalizing the details of a coding system to account for every single receipt and every single disbursement of Federal stimulus money that comes to our state.

Every dollar which is misspent is a dollar that is not putting a South Carolinian to work and stimulating our economy.

If this “stimulus” plan is to work, it must have the confidence of the people. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the massive financial bailout -- with its massive lack of transparency, followed by media reports of bailout funds being used for excessive corporate bonuses, lavish parties and injudicious spending. We must do better this time.