(CNN) - Hours before President Obama was set to sign the $787 billion stimulus measure, the White House launched Recovery.gov, a site that the White House is calling an “unprecedented step to increase transparency in government.”
The site aims to break down the massive bill into simpler terms that relate exactly where the money is being directed. It includes a video address from President Obama promoting the benefits of the plan.
The site also includes the full text of the bill itself, and a Frequently Asked Question's section that fields such queries as "How will the recovery plan work?," "How can I see how much recovery money is coming to my community?," and "What type of programs will this recovery package fund?"
"This is your money. You have a right to know where it's going and how it's being spent," the site states.
From CNN Politics
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@ Matthew, Detroit
Nice try, but the GOP controlled congress (you know, the law making and changing body in our gov't) in 2004 and 2005. Frank introduced legislation in 2007 to deal with Fannie and Freddie once the Dems had control but by then it was too late. The fact is, it's the GOP that had been asleep at the switch and it's all because they wanted to let their buddies in the financial industry make billions off the inflated value of the bunk securities they invented that were based on the insane subprime mortgages and their ballooning interest rates. You wanna know why do many were tricked into taking those mortgages? Because it helped jerks on Wall Street buy $30,000 toilets for their offices.
Wow, the bitter republicans are out in force today! So much negativity. I have news for you...if your republican senators and representatives don't start working with Obama instead of trying to obstruct everything he does, you're gonna lose even more seats in the next election. The American people see this for what it is- obstructionism. Obama won the election. Work with him, or my guess is it's gonna cost you.
@ Dee
"Checks and balances" does not refer to the two party system. It refers to the 3 branches of government representing a division of the various powers of government so that no one branch holds too much power and each can serve to balance the others' attempt to exercise the power it has. The state of our two party system is, in fact, not what jefferson and MAdison evisioned and the factionalism the GOP has fostered over the past half decade in order to divide and conquer the vote is something they both warned us about.
@ NoLeftTurn
Cherry picking like that won't get you anywhere. It also says right on that front page that on March 3, 2009, the federal agencies managing the various allotments of money must begin reporting where it is all going. If you weren't visiting the website just to find something you could lie about in an effort to tear it apart, you might have noticed that obvious fact.
Please let this one go through CNN!
Answers to Radical religious rightwing Questions:
Tell me this how is 247 million dollars going to Hollywood to help producers buy film going to help creat jobs?
Simple, during the depression the one area that made money was Hollywood, movies are needed, the people that work on movies are not all stars, the majority of them are small businesses (catering, costume design and manufacture, film processing, film editing etc) the ones you cry need help, well help is given and you compalin... idiots!
How is spending 462 million dollars to construct a brand new CDC building going to create new or long term jobs?
Umm someone must design the building, someone must do the civil design of the building, someone must approve the civil design of the building, someone must file the EPA paperwork required for all government buildings, someone must process it, oh yeah and some one must suply the materials and biuld it IDIOT!
How about the 335 million spent for STD education & prevention? Would you rather spend the estimated 100X that amount on care for those with these diseases? idiot
or the 2.7 BILLION for embryonic stem cell experimentation? You mean the experimentation that might save lives of people suffering from Altzheimers and Parkinsons and thereby reduce overall spending on medical care? idioyts again
600 million to buy new cars for goverment workers? Hmm I guess buying that many new cars (Psst the government buys exclusiviluy American cars) could not possibly keep someone employed in the auto industry could it? nor, by replacing the current fleet with a more fuel efficient fleet help the environment could it? Idiot
or even the 400 million for NASA to conduct climate change research? Now why would we want to do research in to what may be the most pressing problem? I mean hey if the Antartic Ice were to melt by 25% it would only raise the overall ocean level sby two feet... just enough to put most of southern Mississippi, Louisiana, parts of texas, Alabama, most of the major cities along the eastern and western seaboard and almost all of Florida under water but hey we don't need them anyway we have Alaska (well most of Alaska). idiot
Did that help you any?
After 8 years of spending our money and murdering our children over seas in an illegal war, the same morons who committed those attrocities and exuded such financial incompetence have the audacity to complain. Guess what, it looks like tax breaks kind of SUCKED! We got us a HUGE mess because of the moronic Republican war cry of "Tax cuts for only the rich, screw the rest of america and the world".
Just imagine if we could have back all of that money, and all of those lives that the repbublicans WASTED in Iraq, because of those oh so easy to find WMD's. This stimulus bill wouldn't even be necessary.
The current whiners caused it, and now we (non republicans) have to fix it. It's going to be painful, but the horrid handling of the nation for the past eight years caused this. Now suck it up and do something productive for a change or go on being your anti-american selves. You've been tried and been found completely incompetent with your ways. So it's our way now!
The ultimate insult to America - posting the porkulus AFTER signing it.
And the Dems drool over it - LOL!
I bet when this guy awakes in the morning he walks over and kisses the mirror. Is this what is meant by self-love?
Ex Republican whines, "After 8 years of spending our money and murdering our children over seas in an illegal war, the same morons who committed those attrocities and exuded such financial incompetence have the audacity to complain."
LMAO – hey "ex", your boy Obama just agreed to escalate the war effort in Afghanistan! Will you be whining and crying about this "illegal" war?
Nahh.. didn't think so. You suckle whatever Obama sticks out there.
Today is the saddest day in America. Today is the beginning of an end of our economic system. No doubt stocks went down by 300 points. There was another 300 points drop last week when the bill was passed in the senate. Obama drama is dangerous for our survival. 'Spread the Wealth' message is on now. Messiah wants to take our hard-earned money and give to those lazy people who do not want to work and wait for hand-outs. Hard-workign Americans have lost their 401K, IRA amounts. Barack can say Bush is responsible for it but I do not believe it. Democrats were controlling house and senate since 2006 so Democrats are responsible for it 100%.
Edrita – are you for real? Then, if so, tell your messiah to STOP his scare tactics. Its not us doing it.
Hey, I went out to this site. Really cool.
You can ask questions and share how it impacts you.
I asked if the $13 a week Obama middle tax cut was more or less than the two tax cuts the middle class got from Bush. Bush's must have been less becasue I don't remember it changing my life like Obama says his $13 a week will.
Also asked how much will be spent on each marsh mouse in San Francisco. Just want to know if I am worth more than a mash mouse to Obama.
Hope I hear back from the site.
Giv eme a break–what a joke. All he is doing is smakcing his lips–this is nothing. This same information can be found anywhere. And I ams ure that it is sugar coated–this stimulus bill is a wasteful attempt at reviving this economy. I pay my bills on time, I have a home, and I have a car–this does not hing for me. Oh wait, I will be getting an extra 13 dollars a month; I will be sure not to spend it all at one time.
The intent of the stimulus is honorable thus anything honorable will be a success by virtue of its existence. Hold on America, it's time to get to work!!!
John, yes actually, I am all for Afghanistan. Had we STAYED there and finished the job when we start it, we wouldn't need to escalate it now, just like the economy, had it been taken care of THEN, eight year ago or during those eight years somebody with a brain wouldn't have to go and take care of someone else failures.
in case you forgot: Before we went on a boy-scout expedition in search of the tooth fairy (aka WMD's) we were going after Bin Laden, in where? Say it with me Johnny...AFGHANISTAN! Give me Bin Laden, not an illegal war. Unfortunately, when you are too stupid to get anything done, you go after illegal wars and murdering our children instead, all for the sake of saying "I'm doing something, I just don't what".
Ummm.....There's no transparency when the information is coming from a biased point of view, like the White House and President Obama. Transparency??? Get Real! Obama must really think the American people are a bunch of idiots.
If he truly cared about transparency, he would have made it available BEFORE it passed the House and Senate.
Obama = Carter.
No difference. All bad, all the time.
This is exactly what America needed...A WEEK AGO!!! Transparancy is not defined as 'HOW WE WANT YOU TO SEE THINGS AFTER THEY GO THROUGH"!!!! Here is what is next...your Bill of Rights!
1st...Freedom of speech...gone with the fairness doctrine or what it will become
2nd...right to bear arms...gone when the focus of the economy is done. The Brady Bunch will ensure Jim's provisions are 'slipped' into something like a high-speed railway to Sin City and back
3rd...no quartering soldiers in private houses...gone, will be seen as DOD cost savings slipped in the 'next stimulus'
4th...unreasonable search/seizure...gone under socialism's 'next stimulus'
5th...self-incrimination...only valid to the elite few under the administration. All others, gone.
6th...right to fair/speedy trial...only good when Dems want to push through Repub convictions
7th...right to trial by jury...gone, unless you are housed in Gitmo. All others, gone.
8th...no excessive bail/fines...only valid for execs and 'cronies'. All others, gone.
9th...unenumerated rights...WAAAY gone. Your rights will be determined by the party that won the election.
10th..limits power in Fed Gov...ALREADY gone, 20 Jan 2009.
Since everything can be fixed with Executive Orders and 'PLANS' by the party that won the election, the road we are going down IS that of CHANGE...The '59 plus 3' will ensure that!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, REMEMBER THIS IF YOU GET TO VOTE IN THE NEXT ELECTION! If Hugo Chavez can pull off things like this, don't count out this group to try the same!!!
I have heard so much about members of the congress not having enough time to read the bill before it' passed. My question to them is can't they read or did they choose not to read the bill. This process has been on since three weeks now with a few modifications along the way. Students read a whole book in a week if their grades depend on it. Why our congress chose this kind of excuse for not reading this bill is not only inexcusable it is also sorry of an excuse.
To say that congress did not have enough time to read the bill before it' passed is a mere fallacy. My question to them is: can't they read or did they choose not to read the bill. This process has been on since three weeks now with a few modifications along the way. Students read a whole book in a week if their grades depend on it. Why our congress chose this kind of excuse for not reading this bill is not only inexcusable it is also sorry of an excuse.
Really??? BO and his staff just whipped this up after only having it since Monday???
My fellow Americans...dooped again!!!
Not sure how launching another election style website will help anything. If Obama and his team wanted to live up to the change he promised this so called openness would have began before Obama signed the bill. Truth is this stimulus package followed the same 'washington politics as usual' path...so much for the new type of politics Obama spoke of. As someone who is not American and lives the country it's good to finally see Obama's rhetoric meeting reality.
Not sure how launching another election style website will help anything. If Obama and his team wanted to live up to the change he promised this so called openness would have began before Obama signed the bill. Truth is this stimulus package followed the same 'washington politics as usual' path...so much for the new type of politics Obama spoke of. As someone who is not American and lives the country it's good to finally see Obama's rhetoric meeting reality.
What a bait-and-switch. The house bill had very detailed transparency requirements. The senate bill had very detailed transparency requirements. The final legislation signed today took out all the requirements. Now read the fine print: recovery.gov is ONLY going to track funds allocated from federal agencies to state and some federal contractors. What about local contractors? What about subcontractors? What about jobs created by both? We can go to FBO.gov or USASpending.gov today and get what they are proposing. No one needs recovery.gov for that. I guess Obama finally realized that the federal government can't actually track money once it leaves Washington – and we as taxpayers can't actually track it either. Lame. Another commitment made that won't be delivered. So much for all the promises of CHANGE.