|
Board Criticizes Stimulus Recipients that Fail to Submit Reports (3/3/10)
Recipients of 1,036 awards representing $583 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 funds — including police departments — failed to submit spending reports as required by the Recovery Act for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, according to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.
The www.recovery.gov Web site managed by the recovery board posted the names and awards of recipients that failed to file reports for the October – December quarter. The board also identified recipients that did not file reports on 389 awards for both the final quarter of 2009 and the earlier reporting period covering February through Sept. 30.
“Those who failed to file reports in the last quarter of 2009 and the earlier reporting period should really be embarrassed,” said Earl E. Devaney, chairman of the board. “They took millions of dollars and then thumbed their noses at taxpayers.”
Devaney said ARRA imposes no penalty on recipients that fail to report. However, federal agencies may be able to use their administrative powers to punish law violators. A veteran of nearly 40 years in law enforcement, Devaney said that he was particularly disappointed that some of the 389 two-time nonreporters included police departments that received community-oriented policing services (COPS) grants from the Department of Justice (DOJ) but failed to submit reports to the recovery board.
“It is very disturbing to me that a police department would decide that it does not have to comply with a law,” he said.
Your comments are welcome, click here.
Copyright © 2000 - 2010, Pandata Corp., All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy and Legal Statement.
|
