Research Briefing

Stimulus Funds Wasted In Pennsylvania As Jobs Continue To Be Lost

STIMULUS FAILURE BY THE NUMBERS: JOBS CONTINUE TO BE LOST IN THE KEYSTONE STATE

Since The Stimulus Was Passed Last February, Pennsylvania Has Lost Over 222,000 Jobs. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics Website, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/12/10)

Unemployment In Pennsylvania Has Increased By 18 Percent.  (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics Website, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/12/10)

Unemployment Rate Jumped From 7.5 Percent To 8.9 Percent.  (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics Website, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/12/10)

AND PENNSYLVANIA IS NO STRANGER TO STIMULUS WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE

Five Phantom Congressional Districts In Pennsylvania Received Stimulus Funds And Created Jobs. “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.” (Tom Fontaine, “Federal Stimulus Funds Reported In Nonexistent Pennsylvania Districts,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 11/19/09)

“Researchers At Penn State University Received $1.57 Million To Search For Fossils In Argentina…” (Alexander Bolton, “Senate GOP Point Out ‘Pure Waste’ Found In Stimulus Package,” The Hill, 12/8/09)

Stimulus Funds Went To A Vacant Pennsylvania Train Station. “Mr. Coburn’s report criticizes Pennsylvania for proposing to spend $9.4 million to ‘renovate a 97-year-old train station that has sat vacant for more than 30 years.’” (Jonathan Weisman, “GOP Faults Some Stimulus Projects,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/16/09)

$60,000 In Stimulus Funds Went To Signs In Pennsylvania Advertising Stimulus. “PennDOT has spent $60,000 to create large green road signs telling motorists that funding was secured by the federal stimulus package ... The signs will cost about $2,000 each ... Lori Irving, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Transportation, acknowledged the department strongly encouraged states to use stimulus funding to develop the signs ... ‘Personally I think it is ridiculous that any of the stimulus money is used by government entities to make signs,’ said Mike Cupp of Morgantown, W.Va. ... ‘Explain to me how that is stimulating?’” (Salena Zito, “Road Signs Eat Up Part Of Stimulus,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 7/20/09)

• Pennsylvania Spending $2,000 Per Stimulus Sign. ABC’s Jonathan Karl: “These signs are much pricier, $500 bucks a piece in Maryland and New Hampshire, $1,700 in Georgia, $2,000 per sign in Pennsylvania and New York, and $3,000 per project in New Jersey.  New York alone is spending about a million dollars on signs.” (ABC News, 7/10/09)

In Pennsylvania Stimulus Money Spent On Ramps In Areas With No Sidewalks Or Pedestrians. “During the next 10 years, Pennsylvania will spend $820 million redoing 117,000 ramps statewide, many in suburban and rural counties where there are no sidewalks and no pedestrians.  In Chester County, this translates to 1,612 curbs. The cost is $3,000 to $7,000 for each new ramp, though some are only a couple years old.  More than a third of Chester County’s federal stimulus transportation package will fund new curbs - $7.1 million - many on streets with no sidewalks that are rarely, if ever, used by pedestrian.  The curbs are being fixed now because other projects the county desperately wants, such as widening six miles of Route 202 near Route 29 at the Great Valley Corporate Center, where 130,000 people are employed, can’t get permits and PennDot approval in the four to six months required by the stimulus guidelines…In Philadelphia, $300 million will be spent to fix 20,000 curbs.” (Karen Heller, “Karen Heller: On Every Corner, A Federal Project At Your Expense,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/21/09)

Stimulus Funds In Pennsylvania Went To Bike Paths Instead Of Roads That Need Repairs. “Residents in one part of Pike County are tired of the deteriorating, state-owned roadways while PennDOT spends millions paving bicycle lanes. … To further frustrate supervisors and residents, PennDOT is currently paving and improving the shoulders of Route 6 in Lackawaxen, Blooming Grove, Milford and Dingman townships for a bicycle lane. ‘The bike lane is going to be a lot better than Route 6, maybe the cars will drive along the shoulder,’ said Krochta. According to PennDOT, the bike lane project is financed by federal “stimulus” funds from the President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).” (Pat Camuso, “Citizen Road Complaints Frustrates Supervisors,” The Pike County Press and Port Jervis News, 6/23/09)