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Republican lawmakers who shunned stimulus lobbied for funds behind the scenes

thoughtone

thoughtone

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source: Yahoo News

Scores of Republican lawmakers--including tea party stars Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Ron Paul of Texas--privately sought out funds from the government's $787 billion stimulus program even while publicly denouncing it as a failure. The Center for Public Integrity has a comprehensive report on scores of politicians whom the watchdog group says it caught in stimulus "hypocrisy."

Take, for example, Texas GOP Rep. Pete Sessions, who called the stimulus a "spending spree" that would fail to create jobs. The center's report says Sessions was among the lawmakers who wrote to the federal agencies to ask for the funds precisely to help create jobs back in their home districts.

A few more GOP politicians who worked behind the scenes to secure stimulus money: Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana.

In all, the center reports, five members of the Republican congressional leadership lobbied for stimulus funds.

The report also finds that the Democratic leadership's promise that the bill would have no earmarks for special pet projects proved well shy of the truth. Politicians have "lettermarked" special projects in the legislation instead--a semantic difference that involves lawmakers writing directly to agencies and asking them to set aside money for their projects, rather than hurriedly appending the outlays in the final stages of the legislative process. McCain, who is among the Senate's fiercest public opponents of earmarking, wrote to the Department of Transportation in an attempt to lettermark funds for Phoenix.

The center created an application where you can access all the letters written by lawmakers soliciting funds for their districts.
 
L

Lamarr

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Maaaan, this is weak

Is Ron Paul supposed to sit idly by while his district is forced to pay for the stimulus, and let all that money go to other districts but not his?

The important thing is that he voted against it. But once it passed, he should do his part to make sure the taxes taken from his constituents get spent on things in his district rather than sent somewhere else. It's not like he can undo the passage of the stimulus just by refusing to have any of it spent there.

At least with Paul, the money would likely be spent in an intelligent fashion...
 
thoughtone

thoughtone

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Lamarr said:
Maaaan, this is weak

Is Ron Paul supposed to sit idly by while his district is forced to pay for the stimulus, and let all that money go to other districts but not his?

The important thing is that he voted against it. But once it passed, he should do his part to make sure the taxes taken from his constituents get spent on things in his district rather than sent somewhere else. It's not like he can undo the passage of the stimulus just by refusing to have any of it spent there.

At least with Paul, the money would likely be spent in an intelligent fashion...
Click to expand...

:roflmao::roflmao:

Lamarr, you are too, too much!
 
QueEx

QueEx

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Super Moderator
Lamarr said:
Is Ron Paul supposed to sit idly by while his district is forced to pay for the stimulus, and let all that money go to other districts but not his?
Click to expand...
Was the stimulus spent in his district a failure ?

If so, does he tout it as so ?

If not, why not ?

QueEx
 
L

Lamarr

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Registered
QueEx said:
Was the stimulus spent in his district a failure ?

If so, does he tout it as so ?

If not, why not ?

QueEx
Click to expand...

I've never heard him address results in his district.

I've only heard the reasons behind why he votes against these appropriations and it makes sense from this aspect; The size of the stimulus is what it is. RP's doing this didn't make it any larger, and had he not done this, it wouldn't have been any smaller. It (stimulus $$$) is just going to go to the executive branch where it will be spent without any transparency.
 
QueEx

QueEx

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Lamarr said:
I've never heard him address results in his district.

I've only heard the reasons behind why he votes against these appropriations and it makes sense from this aspect
Click to expand...

Let me see if I have this right:

  • You've been pretty consistent in attacking stimulus spending.

  • And, you've been fairly consistent in waving Ron Paul's anti-stimulus flags.

  • We now hear that while ole anti-Stim Ron was talking down the stimulus out of his ass; he had his mouth workinig hard seekings his share of the stimulus.

Could you do us a favor: find out why the apparent hypocrite votes against stimulus appropriations on the one hand; and sucks up stimlulus appropriations, on the other ???

Also, is Ron Paul's Texas-Two-Step approach Okay with you ???

QueEx
 
L

Lamarr

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QueEx said:
Let me see if I have this right:

  • You've been pretty consistent in attacking stimulus spending.
Click to expand...

attack is such a harsh word but I disagree with the fundamental premise

QueEx said:
  • And, you've been fairly consistent in waving Ron Paul's anti-stimulus flags.
Click to expand...

I don't need RP to see that the fundamentals of the economy are not sound, in fact, they are worse! The only thing we have to show is all the debt we owe to foreign nations, plus interest

QueEx said:
  • We now hear that while ole anti-Stim Ron was talking down the stimulus out of his ass; he had his mouth workinig hard seekings his share of the stimulus.
Click to expand...

I've addressed this. Look at it like Thought recieving a tax credit! While he begs for the tax rate to increase for the betterment of the nation, please believe he will be first in line to take advantage of a tax credit for the benefit of him & his fam. :yes:

Only in this case, RP is attempting to look out for his constituents

QueEx said:
Also, is Ron Paul's Texas-Two-Step approach Okay with you ???

QueEx
Click to expand...

I don't have a problem trying to secure funds for his district.

Like I said:
The size of the stimulus is what it is. RP's doing this didn't make it any larger, and had he not done this, it wouldn't have been any smaller. It (stimulus $$$) is just going to go to the executive branch where it will be spent without any transparency.
Click to expand...
 
thoughtone

thoughtone

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Lamarr said:
yeah, right

But you would be lookin out for them tax credits :yes:
Click to expand...

So you are holding me to the same standard as the hypocrites that said that the stimulus was a failure?

I am noticing a change in the tenor of your attitude toward the stimulus. Before, you were arguing that it was the precursor to the end of civilization. Now you are intimating that get it while the gettin' is good!

Hannity would be proud.
 
QueEx

QueEx

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thoughtone said:
Lamarr, you know what I think? I think Ron Paul is a socialist!
Click to expand...


Lamarr said:
yeah, right

But you would be lookin out for them tax credits :yes:
Click to expand...

A tacit admission
icon3.gif


`
 
thoughtone

thoughtone

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Tea Party Gov. Claims Stimulus Is Bad, Then Uses It In State Budget

Hypocrites to the end!


source: The Miami Herald


After bashing President Obama’s stimulus program, Scott includes federal money in state budget
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Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a record amount of spending in the budget last week, but decided to keep nearly $370 million in federal stimulus dollars in the budget. Why?​


Florida_Budget.embedded.prod_affiliate.56.JPG

Florida Gov. Rick Scott speaks to the crowd prior to putting his signature to a $69.7 billion state budget Thursday, May 26, 2011 at Lake Sumter Landings Market Square in The Villages, Florida during a budget signing ceremony. George Horsford / AP ​

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<!-- end /production/story/credit_line_format.comp -->TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott campaigned against President Obama’s “failed stimulus” program – yet the freshman politician kept nearly $370 million of the federal cash in the Florida budget he signed last week.​

Scott’s decision to keep the stimulus money stands out in a year when the governor touted record budget vetoes of up to $615 million. He emphasized the vetoes of “wasteful” spending at a Thursday event that featured a campaign-style “Promises Made, Promises Kept” banner.​

But as he ran for office last summer, Scott said he “would fight all the stimulus money.” He also told reporters “I would have figured out how to balance the budget without it.” ​

When asked Tuesday why he appeared to reverse himself by keeping stimulus money, Scott didn’t specifically answer.​

“I think the stimulus was not good for our state, made us more dependent on the federal government,” he said, echoing a budget-signing letter he issued last week. “I think that we’ve got to watch how we spend money. As you know, in the budget, I focused very much on how we spend our money, stopping the growth of debt in our state and making our state less dependent on the federal government.”​

The stimulus money Scott and Republican legislators approved touch every corner of the state: $290 million to improve electronic medical records, $4.2 million to aid disadvantaged children, $3.2 million for fighting wildfires, $12.5 million for drug courts, $8.6 million for county health departments, $1 million to fight infectious diseases, and $4.4 million to help public defenders and prosecutors.​

The bulk of the stimulus, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was appropriated by the Legislature in previous years. The act is specifically referenced 66 times in the budget.​

For 61 of the line items, the Legislature appropriated a specific amount of stimulus money that totals almost $343 million. ​

In five other sections, the Legislature re-appropriates previous money but doesn’t list the exact amount. According to the Senate, those sections total about $26.8 million.​

In all, Florida is on pace to have spent about $24.2 billion of the $787 billion stimulus package. Florida’s share would have been higher, but Scott unexpectedly refused $2.4 billion to build a high-speed rail line linking Tampa and Orlando. Like the rejection of the rail money, he and lawmakers could have refused to spend the $370 million in federal funds.​

Unlike in the current and prior budget year, none of the stimulus money will directly help the state balance its $69.1 billion budget. That enables Scott to make good on his campaign promise to not use “one-time money” to balance the budget. Still, without the money, government would be slightly smaller in Florida.​

Most of the money he tacitly approved amounts to stimulus leftovers and pass-through grants that help various governmental agencies with specific tasks, such as the $41,000 that the Office of Statewide Prosecution has awarded to the Hillsborough County State Attorney to prosecute gangs. A spokesperson for Attorney General Pam Bondi, a former Hillsborough prosecutor, said the program has been effective.​

In Miami-Dade, the state attorney’s office said the $2.3 million it received is designated for prosecuting mortgage fraud. Still, the federal money relieves pressure on the state budget and makes it easier for the Miami-Dade office to do its job. ​


“The major expense of criminal prosecutions is always staff money that allows you to field prosecutors and support staff. And that helps you fight the crime,” said Mike Griffith, spokesman for the office.​

The biggest chunk of the money, about 85 percent, is earmarked for Medicaid hospitals, doctors and other providers to help them make electronic medical records.​

The Democratic leader in the state Senate, Nan Rich of Weston, sits on her chamber’s health budget committee and said the electronic records are “vital” to improving healthcare in the state. Rich said Scott’s decision to keep the stimulus shows that the money is needed.​

“I’m very happy he didn’t keep his promise on the stimulus,” Rich chuckled.​

“It shows it’s harder to govern than to use rhetoric on the campaign trail. It’s easy to say it — that you’re going to eliminate it. But then, when you have to cut, it’s not so easy to give up money that belongs to Florida.”​

Scott has been accused of hypocrisy over the stimulus before. During the campaign, he was attacked for bashing the stimulus while holding a financial interest in a telecommunications company that won a stimulus grant. ​

Scott made some tough cuts in the budget Thursday when he vetoed money for environmental programs, seniors and veterans. Scott boasted at the time of going through “3,036 line items in the budget. I know this because I looked at every single line item.”​

On Tuesday, his first day to take a few questions from reporters in the state capital, Scott didn’t explain why he decided to keep the stimulus money and said he couldn’t recall the line items for it.​

“You go through every line you can and figure out where it builds jobs, where it hurts jobs. And that’s sort of the filter I went through,” Scott responded.​

Does that mean he kept stimulus money he equated with job creation? Scott wouldn’t say.​

“It’s a mistake. That’s taxpayer money,” Scott responded. “And I think we have to watch we spend all that money, both at the state level and at the federal level.” ​
 
QueEx

QueEx

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1fvuyz.MaStIm.91.jpg



Michele Bachmann's had her share of government aid and she has sought to keep federal money flowing to her constituents. After publicly criticizing the Obama administration's stimulus program, Bachmann requested stimulus funds to support projects in her district. Although she has been a fierce critic of earmarks — calling them "part of the root problem with Washington's spending addiction" — the Minnesota congresswoman nonetheless argued recently that transportation projects should not be considered congressional pork.


Another of <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">Bachmann's</span> assets — a <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">family farm</span> owned by her late father-in-law, Paul Bachmann — <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">received nearly $260,000 in federal money between 1995 and 2008, largely from corn and dairy subsidies</span>, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data compiled by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research organization that scrutinizes such subsidies. Paul Bachmann died in May 2009, but the congresswoman retains a partnership in the farm.

Bachmann said <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">in December that the subsidies went to her in-laws and she never received "one penny"</span> from the farm, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">However, in financial disclosure forms, she reported receiving between $32,503 and $105,000 in income from the farm, at minimum, between 2006 and 2009.</span>​

Publicly, Bachmann has objected strongly to federal farm payments. :D





 
QueEx

QueEx

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actinanass said:
Was Romney my first choice as a presidential candidate? Of course not. However, I'm inspired on how bold, and serious he is taking this election.
Click to expand...


Five months ago, Rep. Paul Ryan contacted the Department of Transportation, urging that it look favorably upon his hometown's request for $3.8 million, which would help build a city transit center.

That was the same project that four years ago received $735,000 in federal funds through an earmark Ryan, R-Wis., had secured.

The Republican vice-presidential candidate has often used his office over his 13 years in Congress to seek federal funds for his Wisconsin district, sometimes from existing pools of money and other times in ways that would increase federal spending. His success has meant funding for projects ranging from a runway extension at a local airport to an environmental study of the Kenosha Harbor.

SOURCE: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2018941588_ryanearmarks18.html

​


There's nothing illegal or unusual about what Ryan has done; it's the essence of what many members of Congress do.

But, just this week, on several occassions Ryan denied he had ever sought stimulus dollars.

Now, that's Bold.

And, Ryan is a Serious Liar.


 
thoughtone

thoughtone

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source: Think Progress

Paul Ryan Claims He Didn’t Know He Signed Letters Asking For Stimulus Funds

During an interview with Fox News’ Carl Cameron on Saturday, Paul Ryan tried to explain why he denied requesting stimulus funds for a local energy company in 2009 after voting against and demagoguing the Recovery Act. “My office sends tens of thousands of letters to various federal agencies. This went through what we call my case work system, where it was treated as a case work request for a constituent,” Ryan said. “It wasn’t my intention to send letters supporting the stimulus”:
RYAN: I didn’t know about those letters until very recently when they were brought to my attention because they went through our constituent case work system and I take full responsibility for that. The point I’m trying to make is, the stimulus was a failure
​
Watch it:



<CENTER><IFRAME height=260 src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DO46_xctNqw" frameBorder=0 width=400 allowfullscreen></IFRAME></CENTER>
But the letters — at least five in total — are all signed by Ryan in different ways, suggesting that he or an aide hand-signed the documents. “Recovery Act” is also prominently written in the very first line:



<CENTER> </CENTER>


<CENTER> </CENTER>
 
thoughtone

thoughtone

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Lamarr said:
Maaaan, this is weak
Is Ron Paul supposed to sit idly by while his district is forced to pay for the stimulus, and let all that money go to other districts but not his?
The important thing is that he voted against it. But once it passed, he should do his part to make sure the taxes taken from his constituents get spent on things in his district rather than sent somewhere else. It's not like he can undo the passage of the stimulus just by refusing to have any of it spent there.
At least with Paul, the money would likely be spent in an intelligent fashion...
Click to expand...
:roflmao::roflmao:
Lamarr, you are too, too much!

Liar!!!!

No-Ron-Paul.jpg
 
thoughtone

thoughtone

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MASTERBAKER said:
Stacey Dash draws on MLK Jr. to defend Romney support: ‘I chose him not by the color of his skin but the content of his character’
Click to expand...

Paul Ryan Claims He Didn’t Know He Signed Letters Asking For Stimulus Funds

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Last edited:
HeathCliff

HeathCliff

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thoughtone said:
Paul Ryan Claims He Didn’t Know He Signed Letters Asking For Stimulus Funds

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I think that was the best part of the debate. For months these jackasses have been getting away with trashing the stimulus while hiding the fact they were begging for hand outs for their districts after it was passed. Begging.
 
thoughtone

thoughtone

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HeathCliff said:
I think that was the best part of the debate. For months these jackasses have been getting away with trashing the stimulus while hiding the fact they were begging for hand outs for their districts after it was passed. Begging.
Click to expand...

This thread is 2 years old. Ain't nothin' new!
 

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