Stimulus helps even districts which don't exist

[Stavroforos]

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.

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Discrepancies on government web site call into question stimulus spending.


There's one problem, though: There is no 15th congressional district in Arizona; the state has only eight districts.
And ABC News has found many more entries for projects like this in places that are incorrectly identified.
Late Monday, officials with the Recovery Board created to track the stimulus spending, said the mistakes in crediting nonexistent congressional districts were caused by human error.

"We report what the recipients submit to us," said Ed Pound, Communications Director for the Board.
Pound told ABC News the board receives declarations from the recipients - state governments, federal agencies and universities - of stimulus money about what program is being funded.
"Some recipients clearly don't know what congressional district they live in, so they appear to be just throwing in any number. We expected all along that recipients would make mistakes on their congressional districts, on jobs numbers, on award amounts, and so on. Human beings make mistakes," Pound said.
The issue has raised hackles on Capitol Hill.
Rep. David Obey, D-Wisc, who chairs the powerful House appropriations Committee, issued a paper statement demanding that the recovery.gov Web site be updated.
"The inaccuracies on recovery.gov that have come to light are outrageous and the Administration owes itself, the Congress, and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes."

ABC News was able to locate several examples on the government's Web site outlining hundreds of millions of dollars spent and jobs created in Congressional districts that have been misidentified.
For example, recovery.gov says $34 million in stimulus money has been spent in Arizona's 86th congressional district in a project for the Navajo Housing authority, which is actually located in the 1st congressional district.
Click Here to Track the $787 Billion Stimulus Plan
The reporting problems are not limited to Arizona, ABC News found.
In Oklahoma, recovery.gov lists more than $19 million in spending -- and 15 jobs created -- in yet more congressional districts that don't exist.
In Iowa, it shows $10.6 million spent – and 39 jobs created -- in nonexistent districts.
In Connecticut's 42nd district (which also does not exist), the Web site claims 25 jobs created with zero stimulus dollars.
The list of spending and job creation in fictional congressional districts extends to U.S. territories as well.
$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.

The recovery.gov Web site was established as part of the stimulus bill "to foster greater accountability and transparency" in the use of the money spent through the stimulus program. The site is a well-funded enterprise; the General Services Administration updated it earlier this year with an $18 million grant.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jobs-...ory?id=9097853

I find this pretty amusing.

Clerical error, popular error, or deliberately trying to throw Americans off?

[Exarch]

see, americans
this is how awesome messiah president obama is,
he can even help districts which aint even there

[Erik]

"Some recipients clearly don't know what congressional district they live in, so they appear to be just throwing in any number.

This seems to be the core of the problem.

They should all watch The Colbert Report: better know a district.

[danzig]

This seems to be the core of the problem.

They should all watch The Colbert Report: better know a district.

Actually it sounds like a cop out excuse, the fact is if anyone is actually going to go thru the "hassle" of reporting such information to the fed government they are probably the type of people who know what frigging district they live in. So Id say it is a bs attempt to deflect from a stimulus package that no one believes is doing anything and which the Obama admin cant provide any concrete evidence to say otherwise.

[Boer]

Actually it sounds like a cop out excuse, the fact is if anyone is actually going to go thru the "hassle" of reporting such information to the fed government they are probably the type of people who know what frigging district they live in. So Id say it is a bs attempt to deflect from a stimulus package that no one believes is doing anything and which the Obama admin cant provide any concrete evidence to say otherwise.

If someone was going to lie about stimulus spending to try to show fake jobs it created, why would they say there were from Arizona's 86th congressional district, when Arizona only has 8 congressional districts. Even a simply flip through the report without any footwork would flag that report as bad. It would be much easier and safer to inflate numbers on real jobs than make up projects in districts that, not only don't exist, but are numbered so highly that everyone instantly knows they do not exist.

[danzig]

If someone was going to lie about stimulus spending to try to show fake jobs it created, why would they say there were from Arizona's 86th congressional district, when Arizona only has 8 congressional districts. Even a simply flip through the report without any footwork would flag that report as bad. It would be much easier and safer to inflate numbers on real jobs than make up projects in districts that, not only don't exist, but are numbered so highly that everyone instantly knows they do not exist.

I dont know Im not claiming its what happened just that I find it much more likely especially when one factors in that there have been repeated mistakes of the jobs saved/created by the Obama admin to the point where even Democrats have called for complete revamping of the recovery website since its credibility is shot. Whats more likely someone living in the state getting the district wrong or someone in Washington? The Obama admin has a very big need to break the perception the stimulus has done almost nothing in terms of jobs. With unemployment at nearly 10% its really tough to explain why we spend nearly a trillion dollars on the bill if there is no meaningfully gain to average america. As far as inflating numbers that is obviously going on as well.

[Hounf of Culan]

As an Arizonan I'm glad to see that our tax money is being well spent on our 15th district, oh wait we only have 8 districts. NAH NAH I can't hear you! the stimulus saved jobs.

[Martin N]

And to think, instead of creating 30 jobs, they could of conquered world hunger, or bribed politicians to legalize marijuana, what in this world coming too

NAH NAH!

[Erik]

And to think, instead of creating 30 jobs, they could of conquered world hunger

$761,420 to solve world hunger.
Sound about right, yes.

[Tiberios]

Lol, how can a state apparatus fail so misserably, when most other Western systems at least works

[Hunter Makoy]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jobs-...ory?id=9097853

I find this pretty amusing.

Clerical error, popular error, or deliberately trying to throw Americans off?
[/B][/B]

What do you mean there's no 15th district in Arizona? That's where all the ocean-front property is!

[Ænema]

I'd always trust a website set up by Obama any day!

No bias, no lies, no BS!

[Martin N]

$761,420 to solve world hunger.
Sound about right, yes.

Indeed, you could build and pay for many farms and workers or weed farms in afrika for that money

And with the 700 billion paid out to fatcat bankers on wall street for bonuses and cruises, dont even get me started on how much dope that could buy/grow. Dang. *Cough* i mean how much food it can buy!! yup thats what i said.

[Hunter Makoy]

Indeed, you could build and pay for many farms and workers or weed farms in afrika for that money

And with the 700 billion paid out to fatcat bankers on wall street for bonuses and cruises, dont even get me started on how much dope that could buy/grow. Dang. *Cough* i mean how much food it can buy!! yup thats what i said.

I love how not only do you think world hunger can be cured for under $800,000, but that you'll quickly abandon that dream at the idea of smokin' a fat one.

[Martin N]

I love how not only do you think world hunger can be cured for under $800,000, but that you'll quickly abandon that dream at the idea of smokin' a fat one.

Well you could buy 800,000 mcdonalds burgers and hand them out

Or start a charity for hunger and get a bailout of the government when it fails (atleast youll be actually spending the money on food and thus in the economy and doing something good at the same time )

Though i usually abandon and forget alot of things when i smoke a fat one (aswell as getting extremeley hungry )

[Hunter Makoy]

Well you could buy 800,000 mcdonalds burgers and hand them out

I can't imagine the horror a McDonald's burger would unleash on the body of someone not even acclimated to normal food.

Or start a charity for hunger and get a bailout of the government when it fails (atleast youll be actually spending the money on food and thus in the economy and doing something good at the same time )

I don't think charities qualify for bailouts.

Though i usually abandon and forget alot of things when i smoke a fat one (aswell as getting extremeley hungry )

wouldn't that be making the hunger situation even worse?

[Sidmen]

I have absolutely NO idea what district I'm in. And I believe that its entirely possible that some random guy who filed the paperwork in Arizona didn't know his district and made it up before sending the paperwork in.

And the website guys are just data-entry people who parroted the mistake.

[Hounf of Culan]

But you're not the government employee who is supposed to keep track of which districts the money is going into. This right here is true life horror, the incompetency of the government is apalling.

[Sidmen]

There is nobody whose job it is to keep track of which district money is going into.

There is a job to enter the data into a computer, and a tacked-on job of some random office worker to report to the recovery board. I highly doubt it was even a government employee doing this. It was probably the office worker of a company who got money for some project, and they had to report how many people they hired with that money.

[Erik]

There is nobody whose job it is to keep track of which district money is going into.

There is a job to enter the data into a computer, and a tacked-on job of some random office worker to report to the recovery board. I highly doubt it was even a government employee doing this. It was probably the office worker of a company who got money for some project, and they had to report how many people they hired with that money.

According to Joe Biden, there were more than a thousand different people who had to enter this data, and only 80 of them made a mistake, that's a pretty good score.
Adding: It's not like they lost millions of dollars on a pallet to Iraq or anything.

The fact we're discussing irrelevant paperwork, rather than a serious issue, proves the program was very successful.