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Recovery.gov - Track the Money

Recovery.gov is the U.S. government's official website that provides easy access to data
related to Recovery Act spending and allows for the reporting of potential fraud, waste, and abuse.

 FAQs

Below you will find some of the most frequently asked questions and answers about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and Recovery.gov. You can also review the Glossary for terms used on Recovery.gov. If you are a recipient and need information on reporting see the FAQs and User Guide at FederalReporting.gov.

The Recovery Act

Recovery.gov

Find Local Information

Data Questions

Opportunities Under the Recovery Act

Accountability

General Questions


The Recovery Act

 

Q: What is the Recovery Act?

A: The Recovery Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in , 2009 to jump-start the economy and to create and save jobs. The Act specifies appropriations for a wide range of federal programs, and increased or extended certain entitlement programs. The legislation also reduced taxes for individuals and businesses. Long-term investment goals include:

  • Computerization of medical records to reduce errors and health-care costs
  • Investments in the domestic renewable energy industry
  • Weatherizatiion of 75 percent of federal buildings and more than one million homes
  • Funding the shortfall in Pell Grants and provide higher education tax cut to nearly four million students

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Q: Where can I find the full text of the Recovery Act?

A: The text of the law can be found here.

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Q: How does the Recovery Act work?

A:The twenty-eight federal agencies that received Recovery funds developed specific plans for spending the money. The agencies then awarded grants and contracts to state governments or, in some cases, directly to schools, hospitals, contractors, or other entities. The agencies are required to file weekly financial reports detailing how the money is being distributed. In October 2009, recipients filed the first of regular quarterly reports on how they are spending the Recovery Act funds that they received.

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Recovery.gov

 

Q: What is Recovery.gov?

A: Recovery.gov is the official government website created by the Recovery Act to help taxpayers track how Recovery money is being spent. You can follow the spending into your own state, county, zip code, or congressional district.

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Q: Who runs Recovery.gov?

A: The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, established by the Recovery Act, maintains Recovery.gov. The Recovery Board includes a chairman, appointed by President Obama, and 12 Inspectors General, 10 of whom were named to the Board by the Recovery Act and two of whom were appointed by the President.

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Q: What can I find on Recovery.gov?

A: Some of the important information on the site includes:

  • Detailed state-by-state information on Recovery projects, including those in your zip code--displayed on interactive maps, and in charts and graphs
  • Detailed information on every Recovery recipient
  • A breakdown of funding by category (education, health, housing, unemployment)
  • Map Gallery
  • Widgets and Apps
  • Agency Financial Reports, Recovery Act Plans and Program Plans
  • Inspectors General Financial Reports, Findings, and congressional testimony
  • Instructions on how to report fraud, waste, and abuse
  • Information on the Recovery Board

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Q: Does Recovery.gov show information on goverment spending other than Recovery?

A: Recovery.gov's mandate is to track only Recovery distribution and spending. You may find more additional information at USASpending.gov.

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Q: How can I contact Recovery.gov with questions?

A: The best way to comment or ask a question about Recovery.gov is to use our Feedback form.

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Q: Is the spending data on Recovery.gov available in a format (like XML) that developers can use to create mashups and gadgets?

A: Yes. Go to the Download Center for that information.

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Find Local Information

 

Q: How can I see how much Recovery money is coming to my community?

A: You can track the money coming into your community from the map on the Recovery.gov home page. Click on your state to go to an interactive map where you can drill down by zip code, congressional district, or county to see the projects and the recipients. You can also enter your zip code on the home page to find projects in your neighborhood. The Recovery Explorer tool will also give you information on the amount of money in your community.

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Q: How do I find data by Congressional District?

A:You can use the Recovery Explorer tool. Choose your state and then your congressional district. You can also download the national cumulative file on the Download Center. Copy all Prime Recipient (Column B, “P”) rows and paste into a separate document. Sort by Recipient State (Column U)and Recipient Congressional District (Column Z) The two must be used together, because many states have a (first district, second district, third…etc).

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Data Questions

 

Q: How are the dots placed on the map?

A: A dot is placed at the place of performance address as reported by a recipient. If a recipient reported only a zip code, the dot is placed in the center of the zip code area. If a recipient reported only a state. the dot is placed at the state capital.

In some cases, multiple awards have been geocoded to one address or location. When this occurs, the dots are stacked in the following order: loans at the bottom, grants in the middle, contracts on top. When you click on a green (contract) dot, a grant or loan may also be shown in the black information box.

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Q: How are recipients calculating the number of jobs funded?

 

A: Recipients calculate the number of jobs funded by taking the total number of Recovery Act funded hours worked in a quarter, and dividing it by the number of hours of a full-time schedule in a quarter as defined by the Recipient.

If two full-time employees each worked 520 hours (1,040 hours) for the quarter and another half-time employee worked 260 hours, the Total Hours for the three employees is 1300 (520 + 520 + 260 = 1300). Divide 1300 by 520 to equal 2.5 jobs funded.

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Q: Why can't I find the total number of jobs funded under the Recovery Act?

A: Recipients only report job numbers by quarter. To total the quarters would be misleading and inaccurate because some of the jobs span quarters, so they would be counted more than once. And, some recipients only report the job in the first quarter but mistakenly believe that they don’t have to report the same job in subsequent quarters.

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Q: Why does Recovery.gov show more funds awarded than recipients have reported on?

A: Recovery.gov provides a cumulative view of the funds associated with Recovery Act projects since February 17, 2009, when the Recovery Act was signed into law. The recipients only report on the projects for a specific quarter, so for a complete picture of the Recovery Act’s progress, projects that have been completed and projects that a recipient should have reported on in a subsequent period but did not are also factored in.

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Q: What agencies are distributing money under the Recovery Act?

A: The 28 agencies which are distributing money under the Recovery Act are:

  • Agency for International Development
  • Corporation for National and Community Service
  • Department of Agriculture
  • Department of Commerce
  • Department of Defense--Military
  • Department of Education
  • Department of Energy
  • Department of Health and Human Services
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Department of Justice
  • Department of Labor
  • Department of State
  • Department of the Interior
  • Department of the Treasury
  • Department of Transportation
  • Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Environmental Protection Agency
  • Federal Communications Commission
  • General Services Administration
  • NASA
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • National Science Foundation
  • Railroad Retirement Board
  • Small Business Administration
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • Social Security Administration
  • US Army Corps of Engineers

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Q: What are congressional districts 00, 96, 97, 98, 99, and ZZ?

A: Congressional districts shown Recovery.gov:

  • Congressional District 00 represents the at-large congressional districts for Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. These states have only one congressional district.
  • Congressional District 96 is used for entities, such as the armed forces, that don’t have a +4 ZIP Code Extension.

  • Congressional District 97 is used for countries outside the United States.
  • Congressional District 98 is used for the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands.
  • Congressional District 99 is used for Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and Micronesia.
  • Congressional District ZZ is used to indicate invalid congressional districts entered by recipients during the first reporting period.

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Opportunities under the Recovery Act

 

Q: How do I apply for personal assistance under the Recovery

A: The Recovery Act does not provide money directly to individuals to cover costs such as rent, food, mortgages. In most instances, funds were awarded to states to expand local programs to address these needs.

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Q: How do I apply for a Recovery grant?

A: Visit grants.gov or follow these instructions.

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Q: Where to I find information on the Housing Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)?

A. The Department of Housing and Urban Development can provide information on refinancing your home mortgage.

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Q: Is the one-time $250 payment still available?

A: No. This was available only during the 2009 calendar year. If you did not receive yours, you should contact your local Social Security office.

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Accountability

 

Q: What is an Inspector General?

A: Every federal agency has an Inspector General (IG) responsible for overseeing how the agency manages itsfunds and for minimizing fraud, waste, and abuse of those funds. The IGs are responsible for ensuring that Recovery-related projects meet legal and administrative requirements and that effective management controls are in place. The IGs review the agencies programs and issue reports outlining any weaknesses or challenges in the agency's management of the programs and making recommendations to improve controls. The IGs also work with managers of federal programs and recipients of Recovery to detect and prevent fraud, waste and abuse. If an allegation of fraud, waste, or abuse is received by an Inspector General, he or she will determine the validity of the claim and, if necessary, take further action

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Q: How is the Recovery Board working to combat fraud?

A: The Board's Recovery Operations Center (ROC) uses sophisticated cyber-technology and software to review and analyze Recovery-related data and information for any possible concerns or issues and notifies the appropriate Inspector General when necessary. Also, when requested by agencies, ROC analysts analyze data on Recovery award recipients to determine what risk factors might exist.

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Q: What should I do if I suspect that a company or individual is using Recovery funds fraudulently?

A: There are several ways to report potential fraud, waste, or abuse of Recovery funds:

  • Submit a fraud, waste, and abuse Complaint Form online
  • Call the toll-free Fraud Hotline number at 1-877-FWA-DESK (1-877-392-3375)
  • Fax the toll-free fax number at 1-877-FAX-FWA2 (1-877-329-3922)
  • Write the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board at:
    P.O. Box 27545
    Washington, D.C. 20038-7958
    (Attention: Hotline Operators)

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Q: What should I do if I suspect discrimination is occurring in a Recovery Act funded program?

A: Recovery Act funded projects must be free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, and where applicable, sex, religion, age and family status. The federal agency that has provided Recovery Act funding is responsible for ensuring compliance with the civil rights laws. If you know the federal agency providing the Recovery Act funds, contact the federal agency for information about filing a discrimination complaint. If you are not sure which agency has funded the project, you may file a discrimination complaint here, or call 888-848-5306/ TDD 202-307-2678). Detailed information about the civil rights statutes that apply to all Recovery Act funded programs is found here.

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General Questions

 

Q: What is Google Translate?

A: Google Translate allows Recovery.gov content to be translated into 52 languages.

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