'Obama-bucks': Show us the money
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A new 50-state survey gives Washington high marks for giving its citizens a clear view of what's happening to federal stimulus money.
Good Jobs First, a nonprofit watchdog and public policy outfit in DeeCee, is tracking the $787 billion American Recovery & Investment Act that passed last February with a presidential promise of "an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability." More than $200 billion is flowing through state and local governments through more than 200 pots of money.
The White House has its own general web site, www.recovery.gov . The new survey says the 50-state performance in the "transparency" biz is pretty spotty, but rates Washington state third best behind only Maryland and Colorado, and second best for tracking highway dollars . The study says Washington is one of only four states scoring above 50 percent on its scale for the two websites. Washington also shows up as one of only 10 states providing contractor names and dollar amounts and one of only four states providing employment data for the main site.
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Secretary of State
Steve Hobbs
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