onmyknees
04-08-2012, 06:31 PM
Are we still clinging to the notion that the stimulus was a smashing success...even in light of the Summers memo? BlueGas ? Paul Krugman? My British "friends" ? Anyone? I realize this information will be met with an onslaught of viscous attacks, it's your M.O. but that won't be anything new, so fire away...I just hope it doesn't affect your sensibilities....I know how upset you all can get when anyone dare utter a word of criticism of Obama.
And Now The Facts..............
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Company That Received $1.96 Billion in Stimulus, Gets $1.3 Million Grant For Employees Laid Off Because of Stimulus
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Sometimes the stories write themselves. Here are the facts...
A Colorado-based consulting, engineering and construction firm, named CH2M Hill (http://www.aim.org/special-report/the-case-of-ch2m-hill-2-billion-in-crony-stimulation/), was awarded nearly $2 billion from the stimulus to perform cleanup work at the Hanford nuclear site.
The company used those funds to hire roughly 1,300 employees.
They then inflated the hiring numbers by using a Department of Energy metric known as "lives touched", which allowed them to boast that the stimulus helped somehow helped or 'touched' three-and-a-half times as many people as they had actually employed.
When the stimulus funds ran out, so did the ability to support the jobs created or lives touched. Roughly 1,500 employees were laid off.
And now, via the Tri-City Herald (http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/04/04/1891478/13m-grant-to-benefit-hanford-workers.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy):
The Department of Labor has awarded a $1.3 million National Emergency Grant to help laid-off Hanford workers find jobs.
The largest portion of the money will be used for retraining former Hanford workers who lost their jobs as federal economic stimulus spending at the nuclear reservation came to an end.
"This grant will serve as a safety net for workers and their families during these challenging economic times," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement. Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., sent a letter to Hilda Solis, the secretary of labor, in February, requesting consideration of a state application for the grant.
The money will help an estimated 400 former Hanford workers seeking jobs, giving them intensive employment-related assistance, including training, to help them re-enter the work force in areas of the economy that are growing, according to the Department of Labor...
... The grant is intended to provide money for workers laid off from DOE Hanford prime contractors CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. and Mission Support Alliance and more than 10 subcontractors...
"Workers formerly employed at the Hanford site are facing the challenge of finding jobs comparable to the ones they lost," Solis said in a statement. "This federal grant aims to help lessen the negative impact of these layoffs."
So to summarize, CH2M Hill receives $2 billion in stimulus funds, loses a net of roughly 200 jobs, pretends they helped out over three times as many people, and then has to get a government grant to help those who were laid off find jobs.
Government efficiency... the ultimate oxymoron.
Incidentally, I encourage you to read the entire report to find out exactly why Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have a vested interest in this company's success. Find it here... (http://www.aim.org/special-report/the-case-of-ch2m-hill-2-billion-in-crony-stimulation/)
And now this.........Holder's Justice Dept. investigating Obama and the Democrats in Congress who passed the bill. Shovel Ready Anyone? lol
Justice Department Probing Widespread Stimulus Fraud
http://assets.thefiscaltimes.com/TFT2_20101228/App_Data/MediaFiles/0/4/3/%7B043E5FD9-335C-4743-A1D0-94DCB4EA7697%7D04062012_Money_Bridge_article.jpg
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By ERIC PIANIN (http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Authors/P/Eric-Pianin.aspx), The Fiscal Times
April 6, 2012
In what is shaping up as another troubled chapter in the saga of the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus program (http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/02/21/Obamas-Stimulus-Plan-What-Worked-What-Didnt.aspx#page1), the Justice Department is investigating whether billions of dollars worth of federal highway and transportation programs are rife with fraud and abuse.
About $48 billion of the $825 billion authorized by Congress and the administration under the 2009 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) went to support existing highway and transit infrastructure projects, like the massive Fulton Street Transit Center project in lower Manhattan. Eighty-eight percent of those funds have been spent, and nearly 80 percent of the projects have been completed as part of the government’s efforts to create new jobs (http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/10/03/Obamas-Stimulus-Jobs-Here-Today-Gone-Tomorrow.aspx#page1).
http://assets.thefiscaltimes.com/TFT2_20101228/App_Data/MediaFiles/1/F/0/%7B1F0CDCB3-6074-4443-9510-A5AF44742A5D%7Dred_signup.jpg?w=1&h=11&as=1
The Fiscal Times FREE Newsletter
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But federal investigators have uncovered widespread financial management problems with many of the projects. As of early March, federal authorities were investigating 66 cases of alleged false statements, bid rigging, fraud and embezzlement, according to a report by Calvin L. Scovel III, the Department of Transportation’s inspector general. Justice Department lawyers are scouring 47 of those cases for potential prosecution, according to Scovel.
Twenty-five of those cases involve alleged fraud by minority-owned or operated enterprises that received preferential treatment in the awarding of the contracts, while 22 involve allegations of false claims. Investigators are also looking into nine cases of alleged violations of the prevailing wage law, three involving corruption and one case involving embezzlement, according to a report Scovel presented to the House transportation appropriations subcommittee on March 29. A spokesman for Scovel’s office declined to provide further details of the ongoing investigation, but stressed, “We take very seriously any allegations of waste, fraud, abuse or violations of the law.”
An aide to the subcommittee chairman, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, described the probe as an “ongoing investigation” and said subcommittee members have not yet been briefed on the details. “Hopefully the report will be coming shortly from the inspector general,” the aide told The Fiscal Times.
ANOTHER SCANDAL
The investigations into a signature Obama administration economic program could add to President Obama’s political headaches as he campaigns for reelection this fall. Republicans on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee already are planning hearings later this month into a General Services Administration scandal that brought down the agency’s administrator, Martha N. Johnson, and two of her senior deputies earlier this week. The resignations were prompted by a scathing GSA inspector general’s report issued Monday that detailed GSA’s misuse of $823,000 of funds to finance an extravagant employee training conference in Las Vegas in October 2010.
The massive economic stimulus program (http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Blogs/Gooz-News/2012/01/23/Most-Economists-Told-Obama-to-Pursue-Bigger-Stimulus.aspx#page1) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in 2009, in the depths of the worst U.S. recession in modern times. The president and his Democratic allies say the program was essential to prevent the economy from tipping into a Depression, and advocates claim the stimulus package “created or saved” an estimated 2 million jobs. Many Republican leaders and conservative analysts dispute the administration’s claims about the overall benefits and say it has had little residual benefit.
Since shortly after its enactment, Republican Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and John McCain of Arizona have lambasted the legislation as a waste of money that has fostered scores of unnecessary or foolish programs. Those included $4.7 million towards development of private supersonic jet travel years after the Concorde last flew, $2 million to help build a replica railroad as a tourist attraction in Nevada and nearly $1 million to help beef up security on a private entertainment cruise ship.
The program has been dogged for years by reports of fraud and wrongdoing in the areas of housing, transportation, environmental cleanup and the Treasury’s first-time home buyers program.
And Now The Facts..............
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Company That Received $1.96 Billion in Stimulus, Gets $1.3 Million Grant For Employees Laid Off Because of Stimulus
Email This (http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=341810045338317231&postID=5154843365477433712&target=email)BlogThis! (http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=341810045338317231&postID=5154843365477433712&target=blog)Share to Twitter (http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=341810045338317231&postID=5154843365477433712&target=twitter)Share to Facebook (http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=341810045338317231&postID=5154843365477433712&target=facebook)
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Sometimes the stories write themselves. Here are the facts...
A Colorado-based consulting, engineering and construction firm, named CH2M Hill (http://www.aim.org/special-report/the-case-of-ch2m-hill-2-billion-in-crony-stimulation/), was awarded nearly $2 billion from the stimulus to perform cleanup work at the Hanford nuclear site.
The company used those funds to hire roughly 1,300 employees.
They then inflated the hiring numbers by using a Department of Energy metric known as "lives touched", which allowed them to boast that the stimulus helped somehow helped or 'touched' three-and-a-half times as many people as they had actually employed.
When the stimulus funds ran out, so did the ability to support the jobs created or lives touched. Roughly 1,500 employees were laid off.
And now, via the Tri-City Herald (http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/04/04/1891478/13m-grant-to-benefit-hanford-workers.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy):
The Department of Labor has awarded a $1.3 million National Emergency Grant to help laid-off Hanford workers find jobs.
The largest portion of the money will be used for retraining former Hanford workers who lost their jobs as federal economic stimulus spending at the nuclear reservation came to an end.
"This grant will serve as a safety net for workers and their families during these challenging economic times," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement. Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., sent a letter to Hilda Solis, the secretary of labor, in February, requesting consideration of a state application for the grant.
The money will help an estimated 400 former Hanford workers seeking jobs, giving them intensive employment-related assistance, including training, to help them re-enter the work force in areas of the economy that are growing, according to the Department of Labor...
... The grant is intended to provide money for workers laid off from DOE Hanford prime contractors CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. and Mission Support Alliance and more than 10 subcontractors...
"Workers formerly employed at the Hanford site are facing the challenge of finding jobs comparable to the ones they lost," Solis said in a statement. "This federal grant aims to help lessen the negative impact of these layoffs."
So to summarize, CH2M Hill receives $2 billion in stimulus funds, loses a net of roughly 200 jobs, pretends they helped out over three times as many people, and then has to get a government grant to help those who were laid off find jobs.
Government efficiency... the ultimate oxymoron.
Incidentally, I encourage you to read the entire report to find out exactly why Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have a vested interest in this company's success. Find it here... (http://www.aim.org/special-report/the-case-of-ch2m-hill-2-billion-in-crony-stimulation/)
And now this.........Holder's Justice Dept. investigating Obama and the Democrats in Congress who passed the bill. Shovel Ready Anyone? lol
Justice Department Probing Widespread Stimulus Fraud
http://assets.thefiscaltimes.com/TFT2_20101228/App_Data/MediaFiles/0/4/3/%7B043E5FD9-335C-4743-A1D0-94DCB4EA7697%7D04062012_Money_Bridge_article.jpg
Photo: TFT/iStockphoto
Type Size:
By ERIC PIANIN (http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Authors/P/Eric-Pianin.aspx), The Fiscal Times
April 6, 2012
In what is shaping up as another troubled chapter in the saga of the Obama Administration’s economic stimulus program (http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/02/21/Obamas-Stimulus-Plan-What-Worked-What-Didnt.aspx#page1), the Justice Department is investigating whether billions of dollars worth of federal highway and transportation programs are rife with fraud and abuse.
About $48 billion of the $825 billion authorized by Congress and the administration under the 2009 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) went to support existing highway and transit infrastructure projects, like the massive Fulton Street Transit Center project in lower Manhattan. Eighty-eight percent of those funds have been spent, and nearly 80 percent of the projects have been completed as part of the government’s efforts to create new jobs (http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/10/03/Obamas-Stimulus-Jobs-Here-Today-Gone-Tomorrow.aspx#page1).
http://assets.thefiscaltimes.com/TFT2_20101228/App_Data/MediaFiles/1/F/0/%7B1F0CDCB3-6074-4443-9510-A5AF44742A5D%7Dred_signup.jpg?w=1&h=11&as=1
The Fiscal Times FREE Newsletter
http://assets.thefiscaltimes.com/TFT2_20101228/App_Data/MediaFiles/2/A/6/%7B2A6912FD-97FF-4481-BC28-3CCF3AC17428%7D02102012_signup_red.jpg?w=45&h=19&as=1
But federal investigators have uncovered widespread financial management problems with many of the projects. As of early March, federal authorities were investigating 66 cases of alleged false statements, bid rigging, fraud and embezzlement, according to a report by Calvin L. Scovel III, the Department of Transportation’s inspector general. Justice Department lawyers are scouring 47 of those cases for potential prosecution, according to Scovel.
Twenty-five of those cases involve alleged fraud by minority-owned or operated enterprises that received preferential treatment in the awarding of the contracts, while 22 involve allegations of false claims. Investigators are also looking into nine cases of alleged violations of the prevailing wage law, three involving corruption and one case involving embezzlement, according to a report Scovel presented to the House transportation appropriations subcommittee on March 29. A spokesman for Scovel’s office declined to provide further details of the ongoing investigation, but stressed, “We take very seriously any allegations of waste, fraud, abuse or violations of the law.”
An aide to the subcommittee chairman, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, described the probe as an “ongoing investigation” and said subcommittee members have not yet been briefed on the details. “Hopefully the report will be coming shortly from the inspector general,” the aide told The Fiscal Times.
ANOTHER SCANDAL
The investigations into a signature Obama administration economic program could add to President Obama’s political headaches as he campaigns for reelection this fall. Republicans on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee already are planning hearings later this month into a General Services Administration scandal that brought down the agency’s administrator, Martha N. Johnson, and two of her senior deputies earlier this week. The resignations were prompted by a scathing GSA inspector general’s report issued Monday that detailed GSA’s misuse of $823,000 of funds to finance an extravagant employee training conference in Las Vegas in October 2010.
The massive economic stimulus program (http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Blogs/Gooz-News/2012/01/23/Most-Economists-Told-Obama-to-Pursue-Bigger-Stimulus.aspx#page1) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in 2009, in the depths of the worst U.S. recession in modern times. The president and his Democratic allies say the program was essential to prevent the economy from tipping into a Depression, and advocates claim the stimulus package “created or saved” an estimated 2 million jobs. Many Republican leaders and conservative analysts dispute the administration’s claims about the overall benefits and say it has had little residual benefit.
Since shortly after its enactment, Republican Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and John McCain of Arizona have lambasted the legislation as a waste of money that has fostered scores of unnecessary or foolish programs. Those included $4.7 million towards development of private supersonic jet travel years after the Concorde last flew, $2 million to help build a replica railroad as a tourist attraction in Nevada and nearly $1 million to help beef up security on a private entertainment cruise ship.
The program has been dogged for years by reports of fraud and wrongdoing in the areas of housing, transportation, environmental cleanup and the Treasury’s first-time home buyers program.