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Friday, November 20, 2009
GOP challenges job stimulus data
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'Propaganda' for a second bill
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By Kara Rowland <http://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/kara-rowland/>
The government watchdog in charge of tracking stimulus dollars said he
can't be sure how many jobs the $787 billion program has created,
admitting it "could be above or below" the 640,000 jobs the
administration touts.
Republicans said false numbers amount to "propaganda" and that the
uncertainty should cool Democrats' talk of passing a second stimulus bill.
Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency
Board, told a congressional oversight panel that data from the stimulus
bill's first reporting period "is not particularly pretty" but that the
accuracy of the information depends on the agencies and contractors that
report it.
The numbers "may cause embarrassment for some agencies and recipients,
but my expectation is that any embarrassment suffered will encourage
self-correcting behavior and lead to more accurate reporting in the
future," Mr. Devaney told members of the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee.
"If I've learned anything yet about transparency is that it's harder to
practice transparency than it is to talk about transparency. It's
definitely not something for the faint of heart."
Nearly 4,000 designated recipients who had yet to receive stimulus funds
nevertheless reported creating or saving more than 58,000 jobs,
according to a Government Accountability Office report released
Thursday. Elsewhere, the agency found that 9,200 recipients who did
receive funds said they created no jobs.
The GAO report came on the heels of reports earlier in the week that
Recovery.gov, the government's public tracking site for the stimulus,
contained erroneous reports of stimulus funds being awarded in
congressional districts that don't exist.
Republicans seized on Mr. Devaney's admission that his office could not
verify the Obama administration's claim of 640,000 jobs being created as
evidence of deception by the White House.
"That is propaganda, plain and clear," said California Rep. Darrell
Issa, the panel's senior Republican. "The fact is they have no idea how
many jobs have been saved or created."
Democrats acknowledged hiccups in reporting but defended the stimulus
bill's performance. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat, cited GDP
growth and declining monthly job losses as proof of its success.
"Characterizing a real job and the ability to take care of your family
as 'propaganda' is a disservice to the American people," said Mr. Van
Hollen, an assistant to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The hearing was especially contentious given Democrats' plan to craft a
so-called "jobs bill" in the coming weeks. Though leaders have been
careful not to classify it as a stimulus, critics said questions
regarding the effectiveness of the first stimulus bill - $173 billion of
which has been spent as of Sept. 30 - should serve as a warning.
"If you take the $787 billion and you've only spent $173 billion of it,
why do you need another stimulus? This just doesn't make any sense,"
said Rep. Dan Burton, Indiana Republican.
Not everyone was critical of the stimulus, however.
"There is no question the Recovery Act is working as intended," said
John Porcari, deputy secretary at the Department of Transportation.
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13AJ13JONES
MORE EXAMPLES OF LOBAMBA AND HIS LYING!!..WE ARE NOW BECOMING A COUNTRY
ON THE BRINK OF A CIVIL WAR...CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT THE HISTORY BOOKS
WILL SAY OF LOBAMBA IN 10 YEARS??!!.."AL QAEDA INFILTRATES WHITE
HOUSE...AND SUCCESSFULLY ELIMINATES DEMOCRACY IN LESS THAN A YEAR.'''
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ssn042
Dig deep enough and I'm sure you'll find Obama's ACORN friends are at
the bottom of this lying pit supplying the numbers. Or is it the White
House liars?
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MyronJPoltroonian
"There is no question ... ."?
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