Ex-Secret Service agent to oversee stimulus plan

US president Barack Obama will announce today that a former Secret Service agent who helped expose lobbyists' corruption at the Interior Department will oversee the US$787bn (€611.74 bn) economic stimulus plan.

Mr Obama is set to name Earl Devaney as chairman of the new Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board, an administration official said. Vice President Joe Biden will also be given a role co-ordinating oversight of stimulus spending.

Mr Devaney, the inspector general of the Interior Department, helped expose disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's dealings at the department.

The department's second in command, Steven Griles, pleaded guilty to charges that he lied during congressional testimony based in part on Mr Devaney's investigation.

Mr Obama has pledged the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board will be an at-large body to oversee how the government spends billions allocated to help the flailing US economy.

However, with dozens of agencies and departments involved, Mr Obama wanted a central group to independently monitor where those funds are going.

Mr Obama will announce Mr Devaney's appointment during a meeting with governors, who have largely supported the economic stimulus package because it will direct billions to their states for schools, roads and technology.

In addition to the Abramoff investigation, Mr Devaney led a separate investigation into workers at the Minerals Management Service, part of the Interior Department. His review found a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" at the Denver and Washington offices of the service.

He has served as the inspector general - or in-house auditor - of the Interior Department since 1999.

Mr Devaney worked as a senior official with the Secret Service, retiring in 1991. He then became head of criminal enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency.

A native of Massachusetts, Mr Devaney earned a degree from Franklin and Marshall College.