Statement by Senior Advisor for Recovery Act Implementation Ed DeSeve on Recipient Reporting Compliance

“In the fourth quarter of 2009, over 98 percent of Recovery Act recipients that were required to file reports on their spending did so.  This was a 76 percent reduction in non-filers from the previous quarter and is due, in larger part, to efforts Federal agencies have undertaken since then to eliminate cases of non-filing.  We have now delivered to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board a list of those less than 2 percent of recipients who failed to file in the fourth quarter.  While we are pleased with the increased compliance, we are continuing to work with Federal agencies to reach 100 percent participation and have asked both Federal agencies and the Recovery Board to develop penalties for those who don’t comply.”