All Articles Tagged "stimulus funds"
Errors Plague Ga. Jobs Program
(AJC) — Delays, slipshod vetting, confusion and waste plagued Georgia’s handling of $23 million in federal stimulus grants designed to put unemployed Georgians back to work, a state audit revealed Thursday. Georgia’s Department of Human Services didn’t adequately vet nearly two-thirds of the companies that received money and nearly a quarter of the individuals who were hired through the Adult Subsidized Employment Program, the audit found. More than $400,000 went to buy computer equipment, much of which wasn’t used. The first workers weren’t placed until a year after the money became available, and the program ended before Georgia had spent all its funds. Finally, DHS put more participants to work in its own operations than in any private company.
Not Much Savings from Stimulus Money
(AP) — Congressional Republicans say they want to cut federal spending by raiding $45 billion from President Barack Obama’s politically unpopular economic stimulus program. But they won’t be able to get their hands on most of that money. At most, only about $7 billion of the $814 billion in economic recovery money awarded under the 2009 federal law hasn’t already been spoken for, according to the latest White House estimates. And Republican leaders now acknowledge they would be lucky to identify as much as $5 billion in stimulus-related spending cuts as part of a plan to save taxpayers $2.5 trillion over 10 years.
Questions Over Plan to Boost Small Business Lending
(Wall Street Journal) — The Obama administration’s latest attempt to jump-start small-business lending is facing headwinds even before it launches. The U.S. Treasury Department plans to release in coming days the criteria banks must meet to tap a $30 billion lending fund aimed at helping small businesses. The program is expected to include enticement for smaller banks to tap the fund, including an interest rate of as little as 1% and an opportunity for banks that still have Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to substitute new government funds with fewer strings and less stigma.
Stimulus Program Helping 26,000 Illinoisans May Expire
(Chicago Sun Times) — A stimulus program that has given job training and work experience to 26,000 low-income Illinoisans will end today unless Congress extends its funding. Gov. Quinn extended the “Put Illinois to Work” program for two months past its original Sept. 30 expiration date by allocating $75 million in state money on Sept. 29. Now that the state money is set to expire, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. package Durbin (D.-Ill.) said the senator would like to see funding to extend the program included in today’s talks at the White House and in Congress about extending the Bush-era tax cuts.
2,300 Stimulus Jobs May be Lost
(Crain’s) — A federal stimulus program that provided 2,300 Georgians with jobs will expire today — unless Congress agrees to an extension.
But state officials acknowledged that the program failed to meet its goals. The state had hoped to provide jobs for 5,000 people, and it used only half of the $21 million that it could have spent.
The goals were ambitious, said Eli Phillips, state Department of Human Services stimulus programs director, and the program didn’t start as quickly as the state had hoped.
Washington Firms Soak Up Stimulus
(WSJ) — The economic-stimulus package has meant big business for Washington, D.C., and federal contractors around the capital’s Beltway.
More than $3.7 billion of stimulus contracts, grants and loans have gone to recipients in the District of Columbia and two adjacent congressional districts—Maryland’s 8th District and Virginia’s 8th District. That amounts to nearly $2,000 for every resident—nearly three times the national average, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of reports filed by recipients.
More than $2.2 billion of the stimulus money awarded to the Washington area has gone to private firms, many of which are helping federal agencies with the administrative work generated by the sprawling effort: deciding how to award funds, drawing up contracts and monitoring and auditing spending. Some help federal agencies with their internal monitoring systems and public-relations efforts.
Many District Streets Getting Resurfaced With Federal Recovery Dollars
(Washington Informer) — If you drive in the District you may soon notice your ride is a lot smoother on many city streets and highways. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is using federal funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) to accelerate the department’s paving schedule and resurface additional roadways across the District.
“The stimulus money is a huge boost to our asset maintenance program and it’s a boost to our economy,” said DDOT Director Gabe Klein, “because it puts people to work right now paving roads we might not have been able to do for years given our budget constraints.”
Stimulus Money to Fund Teen Jobs in Atlanta
(Atlanta Business Chronicle) — The Georgia Department of Labor and the Georgia Department of Human Services will give Atlanta more than $3.3 million in stimulus money to create summer jobs for eligible teenagers between the ages of 14-18. The funds will serve 1,050 teens this summer, the city said.
Agency to Hold Workshop on Stimulus Money
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution) — The Georgia Department of Human Services will hold its eighth stimulus workshop on Saturday at the Savannah Civic Center in Savannah.
The event will be from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The public can learn how to obtain access to federal stimulus funds.
