MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Energy Department showed that only 9,100 homes were weatherized out of 593,000 planned.

HERE IS WHAT OBAMA PROMISED IN FEBRUARY 2009





HERE IS WHAT OBAMA DELIVERD BY FEBRUARY 2010

FEBRUARY 19, 2010
Red Tape Delayed Stimulus Projects


By LOUISE RADNOFSKY And MELANIE TROTTMAN WSJ

Red tape delayed a variety of federal stimulus projects including transportation-security upgrades, home weatherization and housing-project surveillance cameras, according to a government report.

Agencies responsible for administering stimulus dollars told the Government Accountability Office that complying with aspects regulating the use of the funds—such as requiring contractors to pay local prevailing wages, strict "Buy American" rules for materials, and a mandate that federal agencies must consider a project's effect on any historic site—were preventing them from moving more quickly to put stimulus money to work.

The report by the nonpartisan GAO was requested by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and could provide more ammunition for the partisan fight over the effectiveness of the stimulus stirred up by the program's one-year anniversary this week. Obama administration officials say the stimulus program has succeeded in averting a deeper recession. Republicans say the program has been ineffective, costly and slow.

A spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget said that when Congress assembled the stimulus package it "wanted to ensure that all possible Recovery Act opportunities are available for American workers and American companies."

The stimulus bill required for the first time that recipients of grants from the Energy Department's weatherization program comply with Davis-Bacon wage requirements, which are supported by unions.

In part because of delays in complying with wage and other requirements, the GAO said, the data available from the Energy Department showed that only 9,100 homes were weatherized out of 593,000 planned.

The DOE said the report cited out-of-date figures and that since the fall, it had resolved wage and preservation issues in all 50 states and weatherized about 124,000 homes by the end of the year.

The Labor Department finished determining the prevailing wages for weatherization workers in each county of the U.S. on Sept. 3, and some states said they had waited to start weatherizing homes until the Labor Department finished setting the wages for their state.

The Labor Department said it wasn't to blame for the delays, because the DOE decided it couldn't use existing rate data for the weatherization work. That forced the Labor Department to begin a one-month survey in July to determine new rates. The Labor Department added that it issued wage guidance for states to use in the meantime.

A DOE spokeswoman said the Labor Department's data were for residential construction workers and didn't accurately reflect wages for weatherization workers, and that it needed to have the right wages to make decisions about cost-effectiveness.

Separately, the stimulus bill required that projects to upgrade Amtrak rail stations, bridges and tunnels get clearance from state historic preservation agencies. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 applies to all federally funded projects, and the decades-old Davis-Bacon requirements affect contractors on most federally funded construction projects.

More delays arose at agencies that had to run competitions to administer grants and contracts or negotiate with contractors over the extra transparency requirements attached to the stimulus. And Buy American rules complicated efforts, for example, by the Chicago Housing Authority to buy new security cameras because the systems it wanted weren't made in the U.S.

About $19 billion of around $180 billion appropriated for infrastructure projects has been paid out, a Wall Street Journal analysis has found. Agencies have "obligated" an additional $84 billion, announcing who will get it and working with the recipients to draw up contracts and other agreements for its use. Some agencies have moved more slowly than others in handling their stimulus money, and the lag has contributed to a lack of public confidence in whether the plan is working.

Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which supported the Buy American provisions of the stimulus, called the GAO's findings "incredibly anecdotal." "We've been able to find scores of success stories around the country," he said.

Chris Braddock, director of procurement policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said he wasn't surprised by the report and that he had found the process for getting waivers for the requirements to be "hit and miss." The chamber has also criticized the Buy American Act.

Write to Louise Radnofsky at louise.radnofsky@dowjones.com and Melanie Trottman at melanie.trottman@wsj.com

Comrades, what is next?

This is a calamity. 

This  is not stimulus. 

This is out of control government spending. 

How do you spell flight capital?

Why would anyone with a brain invest  into this? 

Why would any sensible person not do everything to protect what capital they have left to avoid the tax burden that will fall on all US citizens? 

This bill is a transfer payment to labor and government unions.

Feel the tingle?

___________________________

Winners and losers in the final stimulus bill

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Here is a breakdown of who gained, who lost and who survived in the final economic stimulus bill that the House and Senate are expected to vote on Friday:


Amtrak gaines funding in the compromise version of the economic stimulus bill.

Winners

High-speed and inner-city rail: Went from $300 million in House bill to $2.25 billion in Senate to $8 billion in final version. There also is a $6.9 billion provision for public transit.

Amtrak: Picked up $500 million from both House and Senate versions to total $1.3 billion. The bill stipulates that no more than 60 percent can go to the Northeast Corridor.

National Institutes of Health: Ends up with $10 billion in the final bill. The House proposed $3.5 billion and the Senate wanted $10 billion -- $8.2 billion goes to the NIH director for his discretion.

Government oversight: Board to oversee stimulus bill spending will get $84 million to do the job. House bill allocated $14 million while the Senate bill called for $7 million. There is also more than $100 million more for various inspectors general in different agencies.

NASA: Banked just more than $2 billion, including $400,000 for science/global-warming research. Watch congressional comments on the stimulus bill »



Losers

Veterans: Nearly all items for Veterans Affairs were reduced and the $2 billion the Senate wanted for VA construction was wiped out altogether. The VA did get one thing: $1 billion for medical facilities renovation and retooling.

Military construction: Cut and put into a general pot, a change from targeted money for each branch of the services. Army construction alone went from $600 million in the Senate and $900 million in the House to $180 million in the final bill. But negotiators compromised over a general military construction fund -- the House wanted $3.75 billion while the Senate allocated $118 million and settled on $1.45 billion for all services.

FBI: Senate had allocated $475 million but all was cut out of final bill.

Survivors

Pandemic flu research: Although senators agreed it wouldn't produce jobs, it's getting $50 million in the final bill, down from nearly $900 million. Watch the latest on the stimulus bill »
Damage control

Foreclosures: $2 billion is set for a neighborhood stabilization program that helps areas plagued with foreclosures by buying back properties and preventing blight.

Homeless: $1.5 billion is directed to homelessness prevention.

Passports: $90 million is going to the State Department to deal with domestic facilities that deal with passports and training.
Social Security: $500 million goes to replace its 30-year-old computer system.

Tax breaks

Car buyers: Anyone who buys a new car in 2009 gets to deduct the sales tax. To qualify, buyer must make less than $125,000 individually or $250,000 jointly. Cost is $1.7 billion.

Homebuyers: First-time homebuyers who purchase this calendar year get an $8,000 tax credit which does not have to be repaid like a similar measure last year. This phases out for people making more than $75,000 individually or $150,000 jointly. "First-time homebuyer" is defined as someone who has not owned a home for the past three years. Cost: $6.63 billion.

Paying for college

Pell grants: will increase to a maximum of $5,350 per student in 2009-2010 year thanks to two provisions in the stimulus.

Tax credits: Individuals making less than $80,000 or families making less than $160,000 can get up to $2,500 in tax credits for college tuition. 40 percent ($1,000) of the credit is refundable. Cost: $13.9 billion over 10 years.


Making work pay

Tax credits: Anyone making $75,000 individually or $150,000 as a family will get refundable tax credit up to $400 per person or $800 per family.