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March 10 The team will define the broadband stimulus. Update: Because Anna Gomez changed responsibilities, I've pulled back the title from the original The Czarina (Gomez) and The Listener Explain the Program. B & C reports Mark Seifert "has been tapped to head up the policy side of the NTIA's allocation of broadband stimulus grant and loan money. Bernadette McGuire-Rivera will be handling administrative duties." John Eggerton confirms that Larry Strickling will soon be in charge of NTIA, which I previously reported as a rumor.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack may again say "I want to hear from you," his standard offer when he ran for President. "I need our feedback. I want to work with you."

He'll be joined by Anna Gomez Rick Wade of NTIA, Michael Copps, and senior staffers to explain how they will spend $10B and perhaps $20B on broadband. Because the country needs jobs right away, they have been working furiously to get the loan and grant programs rolling. Blair Levin told the Columbia-Georgetown event we are likely to be startled by how fast they put the money on the street. If they does things right, 98-99% of the U.S. will soon be able to connect at megabit speeds.

The event is at 10 at the Commerce Department, with a half hour for questions included. Make sure to be there early if you want to get a seat; there are literally hundreds of folks looking for work "consulting" on how to collect government money and hoping to meet the officials. It's impractical for me to be in D.C., so I'm glad they are streaming live at www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants. Perhaps he'll also put it up on his vlog http://tomvilsack.blip.tv/#159309 . Blip is much cooler than YouTube or the Dept. of Agriculture.

Vilsack is under enormous pressure. The President told him "get it to work in the economy as quickly as possible." The President also set a crucial objective "every step is taken to prevent instances of fraud, waste, error, and abuse." The last time RUS lent money under pressure, they made some very bad choices. They loaned many times more than could possibly come back on some deals, so the defaults were certain.

The Senate wanted all the money to go to NTIA because the record of the RUS broadband program is dismal. They've produced 30% default rates on one program while fewer than half the projects in another were completed years later. 45% of their money was spent where homes already had two broadband choices.

"It's important for folks to give us an opportunity to prove that past mistakes are in the past and corrected and that we will do a more progressive job to make sure people who need broadband service will get it," Vilsack told Cecilia Kang (WP.) A lot of people are looking over his shoulder. The cable industry is deadset against money going to their competitors and demanding "transparency." Rich Cimerman of NCTA told the C-G audience he wants to examine every proposal. So do I. Hilda Gay Legg, then RUS administrator, totally refused to give me the data I needed to understand how many of the broadband proposals she funded would fail. Vilsack promises "tough, hard decisions about where our priorities are," adding "We are up to the challenge."

The President mentioned when he signed the bill, "And it is a plan that will be implemented with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability. With a recovery package of this scale comes a responsibility to assure every taxpayer that we are being careful with the money they work so hard to earn. ... We will hold the governors and local officials who receive money to the same high standards. And we expect you, the American people, to hold us accountable for the results. That is why we have created Recovery.gov — so every American can go online and see how their money is being spent."