(CNSNews.com) - The White House defended the effectiveness of the economic stimulus act on Monday after a government audit last week called many of the reported job numbers into question.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that $173 billion of the $787 billion stimulus package had been paid out by the federal government as of Sept. 30. That’s about 22 percent of the total, and it indicates that 78 percent of the stimulus funds have not been paid out – at a time when unemployment was rising.

Asked why 78 percent of the stimulus funds were not spent in the first fiscal year, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told CNSNews.com that the GAO report probably is counting only the money that actually has been spent, not the amount of money that has been obligated...