The AP reports that "Republicans are preparing to pounce on any wasteful spending" in the stimulus package.
House Republicans are setting up "a stimulus-watch program" that will allow watchdog groups and private citizens to report findings as contractors and agencies start spending billions of dollars on roads, schools, renewable energy projects and other initiatives, said House Republican Whip Eric Cantor. "We'll be taking a look in detail" and "really providing accountability and transparency," Cantor said in an interview Wednesday. House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio said in a statement: "House Republicans are concerned about the potential for abuse of taxpayer funds in the massive trillion-dollar spending bill that the president signed into law this week. ... We will remain vigilant in our oversight efforts." Some Republican lawmakers and aides say that even relatively small examples of spending abuse will feed conservative talk shows and fuel criticism of the plan's implementation, just as a handful of dubious items in the bill helped House Republicans mock it and stay united against it. Only three Senate Republicans voted for the bill, giving it the minimum needed for passage.
This is a smart move by Cantor, Boehner, and Co. The White House has launched a website that is supposed to allow people to track how stimulus funds are spent, but I suspect the GOP will do a better job of finding wasteful spending. After all, the White House hasn't exactly done a great job of finding tax errors of administration appointees.