The Politics of Accountability: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ARRA

Abstract

Accountability has become an iconic concept in public management -- never more so than in the implementation of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or the Obama Administration's stimulus. With more than $800 billion and economic growth on the line, the Administration placed its fiscal and political fortunes on the line with this high stakes policy management initiative. A strong emphasis on accountability would help the Administration offer symbolic reassurance to a restive Congress and public, and evidence suggests that ex ante design and ex post audits were successful in warding off characteristic fraud and abuse that often plagues such urgent and highly visible national initiatives. However, such outcomes were achieved at the expense of high administrative costs and significant conflicts among newly emboldened networks of top political officials, program managers and audit officials, all acting under the glare of greater public transparency for spending and jobs. The complex structure of over 200 programs and the reliance on decentralized intergovernmental networks may have diffused blame for embarrassing implementation lapses, but this same structure deprived the President of valuable credit claiming opportunities for the largely successful economic outcomes flowing from one of the largest domestic spending initiatives in postwar history. Notwithstanding credible economic impact estimates by CBO, a confused and bewildered public refused to believe that the stimulus had a favorable impact on a struggling economy.