Olson and House Colleagues Question Biden on Stimulus Funds

Olson Asks Biden Why Job Criteria Was Removed From
Stimulus Funding Program

Washington, DC – Rep. Pete Olson and several House colleagues today sent a letter to Vice President Biden requesting an explanation of why a Department of Energy stimulus funding program removed the job creation component as a condition of receiving funds.

On April 16, 2009, Vice President Biden announced $4 billion in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for Smart Grid Initiatives.   The stated primary goal of this enormous expenditure was to “create good jobs that will drive our economic recovery - a strong return on our investment.”

“Projects will be evaluated based on the extent to which they create and retain jobs,” the Energy Department wrote in its official “Notice of Intent” for the grant program.   Other criteria included “project approach and feasibility” and “project impact.”

But late last month, the department quietly modified the criteria to take the job requirement out. The department explained in a June 26 set of Frequently Asked Questions.
 
“The American taxpayers have a right to know why the criteria was changed and how the Administration plans to address the fact that we still have not seen the economic growth promised,” Olson said.  “We placed an $800 billion tax bill on the backs of Americans on the promise of job creation.  The issue here concerns the fact that a promised standard for receiving funds has been altered, leaving potential applicants and the general public confused about where the priorities of this Administration really lie.”
 
“There is too much money and too many jobs at stake for these standards to change at will.  We’d like to know why they have,” Olson concluded.

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Additional House Members who signed the letter include: Trent Franks (AZ), John Shimkus (IL), Louie Gohmert (TX), Tom McClintock (CA), Rob Bishop (UT), Todd Akin (MO), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO), Bill Posey (FL), Jo Bonner (AL), Henry Brown (SC), Tom Price (GA) Robert Latta (OH), Kenny Marchant (TX), Roscoe Bartlett (MD), John Shadegg (AZ), Steve Scalise (LA), Michael Conaway (TX), Kay Granger (TX), John Culberson (TX),  Lamar Smith (TX), Ron Paul (TX)

Full text of the letter is below. 

The Honorable Joseph Biden
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
 
Dear Vice President Biden,
 
On April 16, 2009, you announced funding in the amount of $4 billion through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for Smart Grid Initiatives.   You stated then that the primary goal of this enormous expenditure would be to “create good jobs that will drive our economic recovery - a strong return on our investment.”

That same day, a notice of intent was released by the Department of Energy (DOE) which stated that job creation would be a primary criterion for ranking projects receiving funding under the program.  However, the revised guidance issued on June 26 has eliminated job creation as a consideration for funding.  We are alarmed that this change is a misrepresentation of how the stimulus plan was presented to the American people, and symptomatic of how the economic stimulus this Administration has pursued is not having the promised effect, and in many cases the opposite effect, than originally promised.  

Throughout the limited debate on the stimulus package in the House and throughout its rollout and implementation, job creation has been touted above all else as the primary motive for these amounts of federal spending.  It was commonly accepted that for entities to receive stimulus funds, whether private or governmental, the overriding component would be the number of jobs created.

This, however, is not the criteria presented in the Funding Opportunity Announcement for the Smart Grid Investment Grants.  In the section entitled, “Frequently Asked Questions,” it states that DOE “removed the criterion on the extent of jobs creation and now will require applicants, as stipulated within the Recovery Act, to report quarterly on the number of jobs created and retained.”

Our nation has not reaped the benefits of job creation from the stimulus.  In fact, the unemployment rate is at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent.  Shifting job creation from a mandatory aspect to a mere reporting requirement is not worth a $4 billion investment by American taxpayers. 

The American taxpayers have a right to know why the criteria was changed and how the Administration plans to address the fact that we still have not seen the economic growth promised.  

Many of us disagreed with the premise that spending vast amounts of money would kick start our economy.  That is an economic debate.  The issue here concerns the fact that a promised standard for receiving funds has been altered, leaving potential applicants and the general public confused about where the priorities of this Administration really lie.  

There is too much money and too many jobs at stake for these standards to change at will.  We’d like to know why they have.         

Very respectfully,
Pete Olson
        
Cc:  Secretary Steven Chu, Department of Energy
        Secretary Gary Locke, Department of Commerce