By Michael O'Connell
@moconnellWFED
Web Editor
Federal News Radio

Vice President Joseph Biden announced Friday, Dec. 23, that Kathleen S. Tighe will be the new chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (RATB). She will succeed Earl Devaney, who is stepping down on Dec. 31.

"Under Earl Devaney's leadership, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board became a model for government oversight — ensuring that Recovery Act dollars were distributed efficiently and effectively across the country. He will be greatly missed," said Biden, in a White House press release. "I'm confident that Kathleen Tighe will continue to hold the board to the high standards set by Earl as the Recovery Act's top watchdog."

Tighe, the current inspector general of the Department of Education, serves on the Government Accountability and Transparency Board. She was sworn in as the Education Department's IG on March 17, 2010. Before taking that post, she served as deputy IG for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She acted as counsel to the General Services Administration's IG from 1995-2000. Prior to that, she was the assistant counsel for the Office of Inspector General. Tighe was a trial attorney with the Commercial Litigation Branch's Fraud Section at the Justice Department. She was in private practice before joining government service.

Implemented by the Recovery Board, The Recovery Act provides transparency and accountability by allowing the public to monitor how the program is being conducted. In the RATB's first years of operation, the board launched two websites, FederalReporting.gov and Recovery.org, which allow citizens to follow how Recovery Act funds are being utilized and to report potential fraud and abuse.

The majority of Recovery dollars have been disbursed and the board will cease operations on Sept. 30, 2013. As chairman, Tighe will lead the board through its final 21 months while it continues to provide oversight of the Recovery process as it winds down.

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