JOHN BOEHNER

Washington (Nov 20, 2009)

This hasn’t been a very good week for the Democrats’ trillion-dollar “stimulus.” 

 

On Monday, ABC News reported that the $18 million recovery.gov website set up as part of the “stimulus” spending bill was listing hundreds of “phantom” congressional districts as recipients of “stimulus” funds, which were credited with “saving or creating” jobs in those “phantom” districts.  But the story didn’t end there.  In fact, according to the Houston Chronicle:

 

Ed Pound, the director of communications for the Obama Administration’s “stimulus” website (recovery.gov), dropped a bombshell in interview with the New Orleans Times Picayune this week, stating that the Obama Administration has no idea how phantom congressional districts - such as Ohio’s 00th or Louisiana’s 26th - received “stimulus” funds.  The Times Picayune story reported:

 

 

And if that wasn’t enough for one week, yesterday, Earl Devaney, the head of the “Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board,” admitted that the 640,329 jobs the Democrats said were “saved or created” by the “stimulus” could not be verified:  “It may be a fact that that's what's on my Web site, but that may not be the correct number,” Mr. Devaney testified.

 

Perhaps the Democrats can’t determine the “jobs saved or created” because the money ended up in phantom congressional districts across America – even its territories, as ABC News reported on Monday.  ABC News found that recovery.gov has listed “stimulus” money in non-existent U.S. territories:

 

·         $68.3 million spent and 72.2 million spent in the 1st congressional district of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

·         $8.4 million spent and 40.3 jobs created in the 99th congressional district of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

·         $1.5 million spent and .3 jobs created in the 69th district and $35 million for 142 jobs in the 99th district of the Northern Mariana Islands.

·         $47.7 million spent and 291 jobs created in Puerto Rico's 99th congressional district.

 

And that’s just the beginning of the “phantom districts.”  Following is a sampling of some of the “phantom districts” that recovery.gov claimed existed:

 

·         Alaska:  “$1.19 million went to save or create six jobs in the ‘99th congressional district’ of Alaska, which is listed as having a total of 15 congressional districts, which is not true. Though geographically large, the scarcely populated state has just one at-large congressional district.” (CNS News, 11/18/09)

 

·         Arizona: “Here's a stimulus success story: In Arizona's 15th congressional district, 30 jobs have been saved or created with just $761,420 in federal stimulus spending. At least that's what the Web site set up by the Obama administration to track the $787 billion stimulus says.  There's one problem, though: There is no 15th congressional district in Arizona; the state has only eight districts.”  (ABC News, 11/16/09)

 

·         Connecticut: “Congratulations, people of the 42nd congressional district of Connecticut!  The much-touted Recovery Act is bringing 25 new jobs there! And 9th district, how's that $18.3 million working out for ya? What's that?  Oh, right.  There is no 42nd or 9th district.  No 6th (anymore), 64th, 20th, or 86th, either...Here on recovery.gov, the site "providing easy access" to track spending dollars, Connecticut has grown to 13 congressional districts and more than $23 million has gone to those new towns and cities.” (WVIT, 11/17/09)

 

·         Delaware: “Castle is the only congressman in Delaware – there is just one congressional district – yet the website listed five others: the ‘00’, ‘2nd', ‘35th', ‘38th' and ‘99th.’ A combined $81 million was listed as being spent in those districts.” (KYW-TV, 11/18/09)

 

·         Louisiana: “Louisianans visiting [recovery.gov] might find themselves not just skeptical but truly puzzled to see that nearly $5 million was listed as headed to Louisiana's 8th Congressional District, $2.8 million to the 22nd Congressional District, $1.8 million to the 12th Congressional District, and lesser amounts to the 26th, 45th, 14th, 32nd and even the 00 districts.”  (New Orleans Times Picayune, 11/18/09)

 

·         Minnesota: “Minnesota's 27th Congressional District has snared just over $3 million in federal stimulus money, five times as much as the 57th District has gotten.  One problem: Neither district exists -- except on Recovery.gov, the Obama administration's website that tracks the flow of stimulus cash.  Beyond Minnesota's eight actual congressional districts, which have gotten the lion's share of the money, the website lists 11 phantom districts that supposedly were awarded more than $7 million in grants.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune, 11/19/09)

 

·         Nebraska: “If you believe the federal government's stimulus report, Nebraska's population has jumped quite a bit. According to the report, the state has 48 congressional districts. The problem: Nebraska actually has only three.”  (Lexington Clipper-Herald, 11/19/09)

 

·         New Hampshire: “$1.4 million also went to the 6th District and more than $1 million went to the 4th District, which do not.  Recovery.gov also showed funds distributed to New Hampshire's 27th and 00th congressional districts...The phantom districts were attributed to human error, but Republicans say it's yet another example of how the $787 billion program has failed to deliver all that was promised.” (New Hampshire Union Leader, 11/19/09)

 

·         New Jersey: “New Jersey, however, was the local winner, with 18 additional congressional districts.  The state only has 13 real districts, yet "recovery.gov" listed a total of 31.  That included a phantom 40th district, where 384 jobs were listed as being created.” (KYW-TV, 11/18/09)

 

·         New York: “Tuesday if you logged on to recovery.gov, and started to track where stimulus funds were spent, it lists millions of dollars spent in New York's 00 congressional district. It shows 44 jobs created in New York's 71st congressional district.  It also lists the 38th 45th and 51st congressional district in New York State, where jobs were created and money spent.  Problem is, New York only has 29 congressional districts.  Eleven of the districts where funds went, don't exist.”  (WGRZ, 11/19/09)

 

·         Ohio:  “You might be a stimulus fan, you might be a stimulus foe, but you've got to admire the sweep of stimulus spending in Ohio. It has provided more than $1.2 million and added three jobs in Ohio's 21st Congressional District. Never mind that there is no such district. There also isn't a 20th, 49th, 54th, 56th, 69th, 85th, 87th or 99th, even though the federal government's Web site for tracking stimulus money lists them as getting funding.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer , 11/17/09)

 

·         Oklahoma: “Fifteen jobs in fake Oklahoma congressional districts. Listed at Recovery.gov, there is the 51st, 25th, 6th, 18th, 00, 24th, 14th, 13th and 57th congressional districts, all of which do not exist. Oklahoma has only five congressional districts.” (Tulsa Today, 11/19/09)

 

·         Pennsylvania: “Five Pennsylvania congressional districts that don't exist received a combined $12.6 million in federal stimulus money that created or saved 32.2 jobs, according to the Web site the Obama administration created to track how stimulus money is spent.” (Pittsburgh Tribune Review, 11/19/09)

 

·         South Carolina: “A website operated by the U.S. government claims nearly $41 million in stimulus money has gone to seven congressional districts in South Carolina that cease to exist. The Palmetto State is comprised of six congressional districts - one through six. However, the stimulus report on recovery.gov shows Districts 0-0 and District 25 - two examples of the nonexistent districts.” (WMBF/WCSC, 11/18/09)

 

·         Texas: “In its latest computer glitch, the Obama administration's much-ballyhooed accounting system for the $1.2 trillion stimulus law detailed government spending in 39 congressional districts in Texas — a state that, in reality, has 32 congressional districts. More than $14 million in mystery money is attributed to seven phantom congressional districts, including the mysterious and fictional District 00.”    (Houston Chronicle, 11/18/09)

 

·         Utah: “Utah's 4th congressional district received more than $1.1 million in stimulus funds, according to President Obama's Recovery.org website.  The problem: Utah doesn't have a 4th district...The non-existent 4th is not the only phantom Utah district listed on the web site, either. According to Recovery.com's online data, Utah's ‘00 congressional district’ saved or created 26 stimulus jobs and received $539,834. Utah's ‘68th congressional district’ received $29,180, and Utah's ‘23rd congressional district’ $4,685.” (KTVX, 11/17/09)

 

·         Virginia: “Anyone checking the federal government Web site that tracks stimulus money will find that Virginia's 12th Congressional District got more than $2 million. One tiny problem: Virginia only has 11 districts.  Where is the 12th, and maybe more important, where is the money?  And for that matter, where are the commonwealth's 26th, 51st and 98th districts? All are noted as having been awarded stimulus funds, according to Recovery.gov, a federal site set up so that taxpayers can see where hundreds of billions are being spent.   In all, the site reports that Virginia has 23 congressional districts that are to receive a total of $3.4 billion in stimulus-funded contracts, grants or loans.  About $6.7 million was reportedly awarded in districts that don't exist.”  (Virginian-Pilot, 11/18/09)

 

·         Wisconsin: “Six Wisconsin House districts that don’t exist are listed as getting over $2 million from the federal stimulus package. The state has eight House districts. But the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity said a phantom Ninth Congressional District got stimulus money and so did the 10th, 14th, 39th, and 55th Districts. Even a district labeled double-zero was said to get stimulus cash.”  (WRN, 11/19/09)