Data on usaspending.gov is only as good as the data uploaded to it, much of it degraded due to recipient reporting systems. Image: ungvar/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffFederal agency data on spending under several pandemic relief programs suffers from “persistent data gaps and data reliability issues,” says a review by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
The report was a follow up to previous warnings by that group, the GAO and others about difficulties in tracking that money, which it said “make it difficult for the oversight community, decision-makers, and American taxpayers to fully understand where the money went and how it was used. Moreover, these gaps even make it difficult for program officials administering the funds to have a clear understanding of funding recipients and uses.”
The study focused on $2.7 billion sent by 10 federal departments and agencies to two small to medium sized cities, two rural counties, and two Native American Reservations. It found that data is scattered across federal, state, and local systems and that data on usaspending.gov “is only as good as the data uploaded from federal agencies’ systems or from recipient reporting systems . . . many of which have their own limitations and issues.”
The report said there is a “clear need for broad government action and immediate steps to improve the transparency and accessibility of pandemic spending data.”
It added that work is continuing toward two other goals of the review, regarding how the funds were used and how the funding affected community responses to the pandemic.
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