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Vice-President Biden Admits: "People Are Being Scammed Already" on Dems' Stimulus

Washington, Jun 2 -

On the 105th day since the President signed the bloated, trillion-dollar “stimulus” spending bill into law, the Administration is continuing to do whatever it can to sell this widely-panned legislation.   Today’s chief salesman?  Vice President Biden.  Unfortunately for the Administration, the Vice President veered wildly off script in a roundtable in New York, admitting that “people are being scammed already.”

That’s hardly the reassurance the American people were looking for – and that hardly meets the Administration’s promise that the bill would “…contain an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability.”  But that’s not the only claim that’s failed to stack up, of course.  Don’t forget about these:

Claim: The President claimed that the stimulus “…contains an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability, so that every American will be able to go online and see where and how we’re spending every dime.” (Remarks by the President at his first press conference, WhiteHouse.gov)

Fact Check: So far “a full 99.7 percent” of money allocated to the Transportation Department remains unspent, according to The Washington Post.  Perhaps an aide to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) said it best:  “To some extent, I think the administration oversold the transportation aspect of this…It was sold as the heart and soul of the package, and it really just isn’t.”  (Matt Apuzzo and Brett Blackledge, “Stimulus Watch: Jobs, But Not Where Needed Most,” Associated Press, May 11, 2009)



Claim:  The President claimed that the stimulus “…will save or create 3 million to 4 million jobs over the next two years.” (Remarks by the President in Elkhart, Indiana, WhiteHouse.gov)



Fact Check:  “State officials have complained about the difficulty of obtaining grants for construction projects, while economists question administration claims that the effort already has saved or created 150,000 jobs.” (Adriel Bettelheim, “Tinkerbell Effect, Part 3: Obama’s Job Creation Efforts,” CQ Politics, May 27, 2009)  The Associated Press reported that: “The early trend seen in the AP analysis runs counter to expectations raised by Obama that road and infrastructure money from the historic $787 billion stimulus plan would create jobs in areas most devastated by layoffs.” (Matt Apuzzo and Brett Blackledge, “Stimulus Watch: Jobs, But Not Where Needed Most,” Associated Press,  May 11, 2009)



Claim:  The President claimed that it would contain, “[n]ot a single pet project.  Not a single earmark.” (Remarks by the President at his first press conference, WhiteHouse.gov)