And so it begins...

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee has already announced the first of what is sure to be a very, very long string of oversight hearings on the stimulus.

Sens. Lieberman and Collins said they will hold a hearing on March 5, with OMB Director Peter Orszag, GAO Acting Comptroller General Eugene Dodaro and Phyllis Fong, chair of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, testifying.

The senators said in a press release that their inquiry will focus on “ensuring that appropriate measures are taken to prevent cost overruns as agencies enter into contracts to spend [American Recovery and Reinvestment Act] funds, that strict oversight of contractor performance occurs, that grant conditions are met, and that fraud is promptly prosecuted.”

By listing their specific concerns, though, Lieberman and Collins, are highlighting the government’s failure to prevent cost overruns, poor performance and fraud in the past, both during contingencies like Katrina, Iraq and Afghanistan and in everyday procurements. Despite the additional funding for GAO and inspectors general attached to the stimulus, it seems unrealistic to expect more from federal agencies during this spending spree than you’d see on any given Monday/Tuesday/Thursday.

It will be very interesting to see who becomes the scapegoat for the inevitable waste, fraud and abuse of stimulus funds. It seems likely with a heavily Democratic congress that lawmakers would turn their ire on contractors rather than Obama administration officials, but Republicans like Rep. Darrel Issa, ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, are likely to play a prominent oversight role.