Amid $55 Billion In Expected Stimulus Waste Sits Money For ACORN
DESPITE CLAIMING INELIGIBILITY, ACORN APPLIED FOR STIMULUS FUNDS ACORN Said "It Is Ineligible For The Funds And Has No Plans To Apply For" Stimulus Funds. "In the debate over the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the media repeatedly claimed that the bill contained language to funnelmoney to fund ACORN. However, the act does not mention ACORN or otherwise single it out for receiving funding, and ACORN itself has said that it is ineligible for the funds and has no plans to apply for them." (ACORN, "New Report Shows Media Consistently Scapegoat ACORN," Press Release, 4/8/09)
Yet, ACORN Has Applied For Over $6 Million In Stimulus Funds. "Meanwhile, the ACORN Institute, one of many ACORN affiliates, has applied for over $6 million in grant money for broadband projects. … This funding included as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act." (Kevin Mooney, Op-ed, "ACORN Wants Another $6 Million Despite Scandals," The Washington Examiner, 9/14/09)
And Could Receive Even More Funds From Stimulus. "[T]he report goes on to note that "since 1994, more than $53 million in federal funds have been pumped into Acorn, and under the Obama Administration, Acorn stands to receive a whopping $8.5 billion in stimulus funds." (Editorial, "Acorn Live!" The Wall Street Journal, 9/16/09)
EXAMPLES OF STIMULUS WASTE DON'T STOP WITH ACORN
Government Officials Expect $55 Billion In Stimulus Funds Will Be Wasted. "But investigators are bracing for more serious efforts on the public money. The conventional estimate is that 7 percent of government spending is lost to waste, fraud or abuse. Some government officials are warning that using that percentage, $55 billion worth of the $787 billion stimulus package would be lost." (Michael Cooper, "On The Lookout For Stimulus Fraud," The New York Times, 9/18/09)
Rarely Used Airport To Get $2 Million In Stimulus Funds. "The Greenbrier Valley Airport, the gateway to the ritzy Greenbrier resort where rooms start at $500 a night, is about to get more than $2 million in federal stimulus funds to spruce up the terminal building. Only two commercial flights a day come in and out of the Lewisburg, W.Va., airport and, on average, each plane carries six passengers." (Jonathan Karl, "U.S. Taxpayers Fund Empty 'Airports to Nowhere,'" ABC News, 9/18/09)
Senate Democrats Refuse To End Wasteful Spending On Stimulus Signs. "They're spending hundreds of billions of dollars to stimulate the economy, so Senate Democrats said Wednesday they might as well spend millions putting up signs to highlight where the money is being spent. The road signs, which let motorists know the paving and construction projects they see are being paid for by the $787 billion economic stimulus program, have popped up across the country. In a 52-45 vote, the Senate decided the signs should stay." (Stephen Dinan, "Millions Go To Signs Flagging Stimulus Projects," The Washington Times, 9/17/09)
NO WONDER GAO IS CONCERNED ABOUT STIMULUS "MISSPENDING"
GAO Worried About Stimulus "Misspending." "The Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog, told the panel it is worried the auditing process the federal government requires states to use for stimulus-related programs may not catch misspending. The 'reporting deadline is too late to provide ... results in time for the audited entity to take action on deficiencies,' J. Christopher Mihm, the GAO's managing director of strategic issues, said." ("U.S. Government Nervous About Stimulus Fraud, Scams," Reuters, 9/11/09) RNC Reasearch http://gop.com
