On Oct. 15, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (Recovery Board) will begin releasing on Recovery.gov the first round of Recovery Act recipient reporting to the public.

During a recent Senate hearing, a top official from President Obama's budget office detailed the administration's plan for curtailing the use of award fee contracts, controversial vehicles that, according to good government groups, are filled with waste, fraud, and abuse. This plan stems from the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) latest release of guidance to federal agencies on reforming the federal procurement process – part of a larger reform effort the administration is undertaking. During the same hearing, however, chief procurement officials from several federal agencies raised concerns over the possible consequences of further regulation.

On June 16, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) voted to approve the nomination of Jeffrey Zients to serve as the nation's first Chief Performance Officer (CPO), moving the issue to the full Senate.

In late May, USAspending.gov started posting data that identified grants and contracts given out under the Recovery Act. This is in addition to the regular data on government spending on the site. Up until now, there has been a disappointing lack of specific data made available about Recovery Act spending, particularly on the Recovery.gov website – the main vehicle created for information on implementation of the act.