Archive: stimulus
The Calculus (and Politics) of Stimulus II
A healthy squabble erupted between the White House and Sen. Thomas Coburn yesterday over the benefits and drawbacks of the stimulus spending. Well, it continues. And now they're getting deep into the weeds. And yet it's still kind of interesting. As some of you undoubtedly know, the White House issued...
By Robert O'Harrow | June 17, 2009; 10:35 AM ET | Comments (5)
The Calculus (and Politics) of Stimulus
Sen. Tom Coburn is offering a GOP counterpoint to a recent White House report that extolled the early successes of the $787 billion stimulus program. The White House report focused on 100 projects that administration officials believe demonstrate the wisdom of the massive fast-spending effort to jolt the economy back...
By Robert O'Harrow | June 16, 2009; 10:55 AM ET | Comments (10)
Going Big With Stimulus
Here's a trend to keep in mind, though many of you might not find it surprising: "Big companies, ranging from AT&T to Dell to FedEx to Tyson Foods, are among those cashing in on the billions of dollars of federal stimulus money that is rolling out the door. "Some $4.3...
By Robert O'Harrow | June 11, 2009; 03:51 PM ET | Comments (2)
Skepticism About Biden's Stimulus Claims
"Over 90 days have passed since you signed the Recovery Act, and significant progress has been made toward implementation. We remain ahead of schedule in most programs and, due to efficiencies and sound management, many projects are coming in under budget. As you know, we set a goal of outlaying...
By Robert O'Harrow | May 15, 2009; 08:52 AM ET | Comments (5)
Stimulus Spending Stimulates Lobby Firms
"The $787 billion stimulus package -- along with an ambitious new federal budget, bank bailouts and the beginning of a regulatory overhaul -- has succeeded in stimulating the economy along Washington's avenue of influence. In the months since the November election, more than 2,000 cities, companies and associations have hired...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 30, 2009; 01:57 PM ET | Comments (4)
Stimulus: A Cautionary Tale
Lawmakers in New Mexico will require contractors to disclose campaign contributions to political leaders as part of a push to eradicated "pay-to-play" corruption. "'We do need to send this signal that we do not sell state contracts,' one of the bill's sponsors, Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, told the Associated Press....
By Robert O'Harrow | March 18, 2009; 09:40 AM ET | Comments (0)
More On Stimulus: Challenge To Procurement Reform
President Obama's pledge to end waste in federal contracting will face an early test when agencies dish out about $100 billion for projects funded by the economic stimulus package." That from Kent Hoover, writing in the Kansas City Business Journal. In a smart, straight on piece, Hoover underscores the tension...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 17, 2009; 08:53 AM ET | Comments (1)
Mass. Governor Warns Stimulus Oversight Will Be Costly
"When it comes to an unprecedented $800 billion stimulus package, we can have fast action to boost our economy, and it can be done well, with integrity and free from influence-peddling and corruption. "But it cannot be cheap." So says Massachusettes Gov. Deval Patrick and the state's attorney general, Martha...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 10, 2009; 12:28 PM ET | Comments (4)
More Stimulus Oversight Plans
The drumbeat for oversight continues. The latest comes from Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), new chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform committee. Towns says the committee will hold hearings in D.C. and across the country -- along with making visits to jobs sites and state officials -- to provide "a...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 5, 2009; 04:55 PM ET | Comments (4)
Stimulus Warning: Don't Mess With Joe
Vice President Joe Biden warned that he would personally embarrass anyone who misused stimulus money. That's right. The former lawmaker "warned that he plans to use 'the moral approbation of this office' to make sure the huge fund of stimulus money is put to use creating jobs and rebuilding the...
By Robert O'Harrow | March 3, 2009; 10:33 AM ET | Comments (7)
TARP Oversight, Transparency Still Needs Improvement
The folks at Treasury are flying blind when it comes to the many dollars they're spending on the Troubled Asset Relief Program, better known by the unfortunate acronym, TARP. That's the gist of testimony from GAO chief, Gene Dodaro. Speaking to the subcommittee on oversight and investigations of the House...
By Robert O'Harrow | February 25, 2009; 06:02 AM ET | Comments (2)
AP: Lobbyists Get Around Obama's Earmark Ban
Associated Press writer Julie Hirschfeld Davis wrote an interesting story about something that feels almost inevitable. "President Barack Obama's ban on earmarks in the $825 billion economic stimulus bill doesn't mean interest groups, lobbyists and lawmakers won't be able to funnel money to pet projects," she wrote. "They're just working...
By Robert O'Harrow | January 28, 2009; 01:59 PM ET | Comments (3)
Stimulus Bill Includes Millions for Satellite Program
Here's a troubling one from Taxpayer's For Common Sense: Spending on the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System, a program to generate weather and climate data, has doubled over the last 14 years to $12.5 billion -- even though none of the satellites have been launched. The taxpayer group is...
By Robert O'Harrow | January 27, 2009; 06:09 AM ET | Comments (15)
Report: Stimulus Bill Will be Good for Contractors
You say "stimulus," they think "contracting." Anyway, that's the conclusion of Input, a market research firm that focuses on federal procurement, according to a brief article in Washington Technology. "'It's too early to tell the mix of investments that will be included in the economic stimulus package, but it is...
By Robert O'Harrow | January 12, 2009; 12:55 PM ET | Comments (1)
