Government wants contractors to register soon at stimulus-tracking site

Contractors, state agencies and other recipients of $25,000 or more in federal funds under the economic stimulus law are being urged to register on the new FederalReporting.gov Web site beginning Aug. 17.

The government created FederalReporting.gov to collect and channel information about disbursement of the $787 billion in economic stimulus law funding. It links to Recovery.gov, which posts data and maps about the stimulus spending for the public. Recovery.gov recently added new interactive mapping features.

“FederalReporting.gov is a new Web site designed specifically to collect recipient reports and to move report data seamlessly and rapidly to Recovery.gov,” states an Aug. 13 news release from the Recovery Ac­countability and Transparency Board, which was established by Congress to oversee spending and promote transparency.

Contractors, state and local agencies, nonprofits and other recipients of $25,000 or more in stimulus funding must report their contracts, grants and loans by Oct. 10. To prepare for that, the recipients must register at FederalReporting.gov.

The board expects that 150,000 to 200,000 recipients will file reports by the Oct. 10 deadline. 

Officials at 28 federal agencies that are distributing economic stimulus law funds also must register at FederalReporting.gov. This is so they can review information submitted by re­cipients and suggest corrections if the agencies discover errors or other problems. However, only recipients can change the information — and then only during a short period after the reporting deadline closes, the news release said.

Recipients, including contractors, nonprofits and government agencies, must provide details on the amount of money they have received and spent, the project scope and timetable, and the number of jobs created. After that, recipients must file quarterly status reports. Individuals who receive funds are not required to file reports.