SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — In response to the attached letter from Recovery Act Inspector General Laura Chick, today Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sent the following letter to state departments and agencies involved with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funding federally designated to flow through state government entities. On July 9, 2009, the Inspector General made a formal information request to these state departments and agencies. The Governor created the first-in-the-nation position of Inspector General to act as a watchdog over Recovery Act funds as they are dispersed in California.
Full text of the Governor’s letter:
July 20, 2009
To: All State Agencies and Departments
Re: Recovery Act Dollars
As you know, funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act comes with strict reporting requirements – and my expectation that they will be met. It is impossible to overstate the importance of putting Californians back to work and putting our state on the road to economic recovery. We cannot and will not be distracted by waste, fraud or abuse of the money.
Recently, you received a request for Recovery Act tracking information from Inspector General Laura Chick. You must provide all information requested by her office and by the Recovery Act Task Force. Californians expect that we account in real time for every federal dollar funneled through a state agency, including what was received, where it was spent and more. I, too, expect this. You can expect to meet with me and the Inspector General within the next two days if there is a lag in responding to this most recent request for Recovery Act data.
I understand we are operating in a challenging environment, but that means these efforts only become all the more important. I know you share these goals. To accomplish them, we must start by tracking every stimulus dollar from receipt to expenditure. It is a basic requirement, but one in which I take an active and personal interest.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
