Administration officials also highlighted the relatively small number of complaints about contracts related to the stimulus package. An independent board established to provide oversight has received just 3,806 complaints - less than 2 percent of more than 200,000 awards. Prosecutors have initiated 424 criminal investigations, representing 0.2 percent of all awards.
Typically, 5 to 7 percent of government contracts attract complaints, Bernstein said.
Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, which represents government contractors, said the unprecedented focus on oversight clearly paid off and should be analyzed for lessons that could be applied throughout the government.
"Given the ambitious nature of the stimulus, the fact that things have gone relatively smoothly suggests that they did put appropriate and adequate resources" into program oversight, said Soloway, an early skeptic of the package. "They definitely deserve credit for that," he said.