Always Sunny in Los Angeles!

by Jennifer LaFleur

Nothing says summer like a fresh crop of stimulus data.

So along with our revamped ProPublica website, we bring you the next generation of our Recovery Tracker. As with our last trackers, we started with data from the federal stimulus website, Recovery.gov, and added thousands of stimulus spending records from USAspending.gov.

We also have continued to better track money to the county level. That means that instead of seeing a chunk of money going to your state Department of Education, you’ll see how much money your local counties received from the state (as long as your state reported the information to the Recovery.gov folks).

But wait. That’s not all. The latest version of our Recovery Tracker also includes more information about stimulus vendors. We identified more than 1,300 vendors where no recipient name was reported on Recovery.gov.

Finding our new Recovery Tracker will be easy. It will live online in the new Tools and Data section of ProPublica.org.

And for all you data lovers out there, you still can request a copy of your state’s data.

If you want to know about how we do all this, check out our detailed methodology.

If you'd like to be notified when we publish new data -- Recovery and more -- sign up for ProPublica's data and reporting tools e-mail list.

by Sebastian Jones

Stimulus spending has reached roughly 8 billion, according to the latest numbers from Recovery.gov, released on April 9. That number includes 5 billion in spending and an estimated 3 billion in tax cuts. The tax-cut figure was recently adjusted upward by the Office of Tax Analysis. In total, over 47 percent of the roughly 0 billion stimulus package has entered the economy.

You can track stimulus spending by agency on our interactive Stimulus Progress Bar. You can also see how fast that money is moving out the door, by checking out our Stimulus Speed Chart.

by Sebastian Jones

The Obama administration has spent close to 9 billion in stimulus funds, according to numbers from Recovery.gov. The latest total includes about 0 billion in spending and 9 billion in tax cuts. Overall, just over 41 percent of the nearly 0 billion stimulus package has entered the economy.

You can track stimulus spending by agency on our interactive Stimulus Progress Bar. You can also see how fast that money is moving out the door, by checking out our Stimulus Speed Chart.

by Mike Webb

Lately, we’ve made it part of our mission to help other reporters pull stories together. Whether it’s our Reporting Recipe, which gives tips on investigating state licensing agencies, or our Reporting Matchmaker, which pairs reporters with homeowners in loan mod limbo, we’re doing what we can to make it easier for you to produce investigations.

Later this week, ProPublica is going to team up with the Associated Press Managing Editors and the Sunlight Foundation for online Webinars to share some tools and tips for getting stimulus data for your community. Making sense of the thousands of stimulus reports from hundreds of federal agencies can be challenging, so these Webinars will help you navigate the terrain of the Recovery Act.

These one-hour sessions are Thursday, April 8, at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., and Friday, April 9, at 9 a.m. and noon. All times are Eastern. Jennifer LaFleur of ProPublica and Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation will host the Webinars. For more information or to sign up for a session, click on any “Stimulus Workshop” on APME’s events page.

We also hope you’ll check out our Eye on the Stimulus section to get data from our Recovery Tracker, and to view all of our stimulus tools and reports.

by Sebastian Jones

Stimulus spending has reached roughly 7 billion, according to the latest numbers from Recovery.gov, released on March 26. That number includes 8 billion in spending and an estimated 9 billion in tax cuts. Overall, just under 41 percent of the roughly 0 billion stimulus package has entered the economy.

You can track stimulus spending by agency on our interactive Stimulus Progress Bar. You can also see how fast that money is moving out the door, by checking out our Stimulus Speed Chart.

by Sebastian Jones and Michael Grabell

President Obama’s push for electronic medical records has faced resistance from those who question whether health information technology systems can protect patient privacy.

So last week, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services hired a public relations firm to try to win consumer trust.

The irony? The firm chosen for the job — Ketchum Inc. — was hip-deep in controversy a few years ago for producing a series of fake TV news stories that violated a federal ban on propaganda. The company also drew fire for channeling taxpayer funds to a conservative pundit to promote the Bush administration’s education policies.

Ketchum, based in New York, is one of the world’s largest public relations firms, with a host of large corporate clients and a history of winning government contracts.

Company spokeswoman Alicia Stetzer declined to answer questions about the .8 million contract, funded by the federal stimulus package. Nancy Szemraj, a spokeswoman for the government’s health IT initiative, said the PR firm won the contract over four other companies because of its ability to attract public acceptance.

"Ketchum has a long rich history of doing outstanding communication outreach work for large social marketing endeavors," Szemraj said. "They are very capable of moving the needle, with has to happen here."

She noted that Ketchum’s work helped HHS enroll 35 million people in the Medicare prescription drug program. And she said all of the firm’s marketing ideas would be reviewed by senior managers at HHS.

Consumer advocates warned that the PR contract will only heighten skepticism about the security of online health records. A poll conducted last year by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health found that roughly six in 10 Americans lack confidence in the privacy of online health records.

"The public has always been very suspicious over whether electronic health information will be safe," said Dr. Deborah C. Peel, a physician and founder of the Coalition for Patient Privacy, which includes consumer, privacy and health groups. Peel called Ketchum a "very, very troubling choice because the last thing the public needs are more tricks being pulled on them."

During the Bush administration, Ketchum and its former lobbying arm, the Washington Group, had several prominent Republicans on the payroll, including former New York Rep. Susan Molinari. In the last year, it has beefed up its Democratic credentials, hiring Jonathan Kopp, a member of the Obama campaign’s national media team, and Donald J. Foley, a longtime Democratic strategist.

Ketchum has continued to draw government work – particularly from HHS – despite a series of reports in 2004 and 2005, in which Government Accountability Office investigators found it had produced a series of video news releases that constituted "covert propaganda" because they did not disclose they were paid for by the federal government.

The segments aired during local television broadcasts on at least 40 stations across the country. Designed to look like news reports, each concluded with a paid actor posing as a journalist reporting from Washington.

One series was produced for HHS in an effort to promote the Medicare prescription drug program to seniors. The others were paid for by the Department of Education. Overall, video news releases have become increasingly common, used by large public relations firms and companies to repackage advertisements as news.

Ketchum was involved in a separate controversy in 2005, when reports surfaced that it had used taxpayer funds to pay syndicated columnist Armstrong Williams 0,000 to promote the No Child Left Behind education bill during radio broadcasts as part of outreach to the African-American community.

In both instances, Ketchum defended its tactics. Stetzer referred reporters to a 2005 PR Week article, in which CEO Ray Kotcher said, "There is no indication that it was ever the intent of Ketchum or any of our people to mislead anyone."

This time around, HHS has hired Ketchum to provide a "comprehensive campaign for communications and education," to encourage doctors and hospitals to adopt health IT and to assure the public that their information will be safe.

The campaign is part of the administration’s billion health IT program, also backed by the stimulus package, which aims to spearhead the transition to online medical records through grants, bonuses to doctors and hospitals, and the development of national standards.

by Sebastian Jones

The Obama administration has spent close to 4 billion in stimulus funds, according to numbers from Recovery.gov. The latest total includes 5 billion in spending and 9 billion in tax cuts. Overall, just over 40 percent of the about 0 billion stimulus package has entered the economy.

You can track stimulus spending by agency on our interactive Stimulus Progress Bar. You can also see how fast that money is moving out the door, by checking out our Stimulus Speed Chart.

by Jennifer LaFleur and Michael Grabell

Update (3/25/2010): The Recovery Board has corrected their list of stimulus recipients who have failed to file any quarterly reports. The list is here.

More than 60 stimulus recipients can take heart that they’re not "losers" after all.

The panel charged with watchdogging the federal stimulus program confirms that dozens of recipients wrongly appeared on a list of "two-time losers" for failing to file reports on their funds.

The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board’s list, posted on Recovery.gov earlier this month, included 389 awards to contractors and grantees ranging from rural health clinics to county governments. The list was based on information that was provided by the White House Office of Management and Budget and certified as accurate by federal agencies that awarded the funds.

And because we just can’t get enough stimulus data, ProPublica checked the two-time loser list by comparing project award numbers and dollar amounts against other data that had been reported on Recovery.gov. We found that some of the accused recipients actually may have filed reports.

After we wrote about our findings, the Recovery Board checked into them.

"After conducting a thorough review, I can now say that the list provided to us by ProPublica was accurate," said board Chairman Earl Devaney. "We will be posting an amended list of two-time non-reporters on Thursday (March 25)."

Spokesman Ed Pound said the Recovery Board staff verified every project on its original losers list to make sure it had not been reported.

In some cases, slight differences in the format of award IDs or changes in amounts could have inadvertently landed some recipients on the failed-to-file list.

Most of the unreported money involved U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, Justice Department grants to police departments, and Health and Human Services grants to rural medical clinics.

At the time of our original review, Corps of Engineers officials said the agency was trying to figure out what went awry and was reaching out to ensure that all the contractors understood the reporting requirements.

A Health and Human Services spokesman said the mix-up happened because some health clinics had incorrectly filed as subrecipients of grants instead of primary recipients.

"In the future, we want better quality review by the federal agencies," Pound said. "We’ll do everything we can to make sure the information we put out is accurate."

by Sebastian Jones

Stimulus spending by the Obama administration has reached roughly 1 billion, according to the latest numbers from Recovery.gov. That number includes 2 billion in spending and an estimated 9 billion in tax cuts. Overall, slightly more than 40 percent of the nearly 0 billion stimulus package has entered the economy.

You can track stimulus spending by agency on our interactive Stimulus Progress Bar. You can also see how fast that money is moving out the door by checking out our Stimulus Speed Chart.

by Michael Grabell

A former public official sent to prison for corruption is now getting stimulus money for a Louisiana sidewalk project. A newspaper investigation uncovers shoddy work in Ohio’s weatherization program. And the government’s housing watchdog raises questions about a Pittsburgh nonprofit’s application for lead paint removal.

These are among the cases we’ve added to our stimulus investigations chart.

The chart, which we’re updating regularly, tracks inspector general reports, auditor investigations and news accounts about questionable contractors. If you have new information about a case or know one we should add, e-mail it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

by Christopher Flavelle

Last December, we reported in USA Today that a plan to subsidize billions of dollars in school construction under the stimulus bill had largely flopped.

Now, Congress has passed a fix to get the program back on track. President Obama signed the bill today.

"We're excited about this," said Ben Matthews, director of school support for North Carolina's Department of Public Instruction. The state was among many that couldn't take full advantage of the program because of red tape, technical glitches and difficulty persuading lenders to participate.

Some background: When Congress approved the original stimulus package in February 2009, one of its job-creating provisions was a program to help rebuild disintegrating school facilities.

Obama even highlighted the issue during his first address to a joint session of Congress, introducing a junior high student from Dillon, S.C., Ty'Sheoma Bethea, who had written to lawmakers asking for money to fix her crumbling school.

The stimulus bill authorized tax credits to back billion in Qualified School Construction Bonds over two years. The hope was that tax credits would translate into lower borrowing costs for states or school districts that sold the bonds to finance repairs or other construction.

As we reported, results fell short of expectations. North Carolina schools have been able to find buyers for just million worth of bonds, out of a possible 2 million available so far. North Carolina wasn't alone. As of March 12, just .3 billion of the bonds had been sold nationwide, less than a third of the billion available for 2009.

The fix from Congress attempts to simplify things by providing federal subsidies directly to school districts, rather than relying on lenders to offer lower interest rates because of prospective tax credits. Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., praised the legislative change, saying it would "create jobs by building the new schools we need."

The U.S. Treasury announced Wednesday that it was making another billion available under the program for 2010.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., told Reuters that switching the bond program from tax credits to direct rebates will cost the government .6 billion over 10 years.

By comparison, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that total spending and tax cuts authorized in the stimulus package, formally titled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are expected to reach 2 billion over a decade.

by Christopher Flavelle

The Obama administration has spent 7 billion of last February’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to the latest numbers from Recovery.gov. The funds include 8 billion in spending and an estimated 9 billion in tax cuts, and represent just over 40 percent of the nearly 0 billion stimulus package.

You can track stimulus spending by agency on our interactive Stimulus Progress Bar. You can also see how fast that money is moving out the door, by checking out our Stimulus Speed Chart.

by Marian Wang

March 15: This post has been updated.

Not a big, flashy headline, but we thought it was worth noting:

Today the Senate unanimously voted to amend a jobs bill with new rules to strengthen the government's tracking and reporting of stimulus spending and its effectiveness. Sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the new amendment requires federal agencies to assess and update current methods for tracking stimulus funds and to file quarterly reports for Congress and the public. Grant recipients that "knowing and consistently" fail to meet these requirements could face fines of up to 0,000.

The announcement of the amendment follows our reporting at ProPublica showing that federal data on delinquent "two-time loser" stimulus recipients -- recipients who had failed to file two required reports -- were actually erroneous. We found that as many as 60 of the 360 contractors called out had actually filed the reports. The White House Office of Management and Budget acknowledged to us that the list was inaccurate.

Update: This post has been updated to reflect that stimulus grant recipients who "knowing and consistently" fail to meet requirements could face fines of up to 0,000.

by Jennifer LaFleur

If you're on our data tools and reporting features e-mail list, you got a heads-up about this last night.

We're making the data supporting our Recovery Tracker available to you upon request. Just fill out this form and we'll get you state data within 48 hours.

The Recovery Tracker includes all the data used on the government's stimulus Web site, Recovery.gov, and thousands of records the feds didn't include -- the law doesn't require all recipients to report to Recovery.gov. We also cleaned out the cobwebs. Altogether they're the most comprehensive publicly available analysis of stimulus spending.

by Christopher Flavelle

The Obama administration has paid out 4 billion of the nearly 0 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to our weekly breakdown. That figure, which includes 5 billion in spending and an estimated 9 billion in tax cuts, is just shy of 40 percent of the total stimulus package.

You can see more information on stimulus spending, including a breakdown of spending by agency, at our interactive Stimulus Progress Bar. You can also see how fast each agency is spending its money by checking out our Stimulus Speed Chart.