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| It wasn't me, it wasn't my architectural firm; It wasn't my police department project | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 19 2010, 03:17 PM (147 Views) | |
| Dewey | Aug 19 2010, 03:17 PM Post #1 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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...and apparently, it wasn't even true. Obama cited 'stimulus,' but the money is actually from Voinovich, Brown and Kilroy Published: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 4:00 PM Updated: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 4:59 PM Stephen Koff, The Plain Dealer Stephen Koff, The Plain Dealer UPDATED AT 4:00 p.m. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Barack Obama was incorrect Wednesday when, speaking in Columbus, Ohio, he credited the White House-backed economic stimulus bill with helping to save a local architecture firm's jobs, The Plain Dealer has confirmed. The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has nothing to do with the renovation of a Columbus police station. Obama, however, said that the stimulus helped pay for the renovation, providing work to architects at a small firm that otherwise would have had layoffs. The money, in fact, is coming from a congressional earmark and the city of Columbus. Sens. George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown and Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy in 2009 secured the federal money -- $300,000 -- in a congressional spending bill, according to interviews and statements their offices put out that year. Congress members routinely obtain earmarks in these bills. The president doesn't secure earmarks. His role is to sign or reject the legislation. The rest of the money for the $1.379 million project will come from the city of Columbus, according to Paul Rakosky, the city's finance and management director. The police project involves turning an abandoned private warehouse in the south end of Columbus into a new police crime lab and property room, Rakosky said this afternoon. The renovation has been planned since 2007 but was delayed by the city's own problems because of the poor economy. Construction won't start until next year. It would have been difficult at best for the stimulus to fund the project because construction and renovation of police facilities is not a permissible use of stimulus money. There are exceptions in narrow circumstances, such as construction of a jail on an Indian reservation, according to guidelines for stimulus grant applications. Obama, speaking in the back yard of Rhonda and Joe Weithman, cited successes of the stimulus package, saying the administration has been "trying to help our state and local governments so that they're not having to lay off as many teachers and firefighters and police offices." "And, in addition," he said, "what we've been trying to do is to build infrastructure that puts people back to work but also improves the quality of life in communities like Columbus. So Joe is an architect and now he's working on a new police station that was funded in part with Recovery Act funds." The president may have misspoken rather than deliberately distorting the reach of the stimulus to the small Columbus architecture firm. In materials provided to reporters for the event, the White House had been careful not to credit the stimulus bill for the police station renovation. Instead, the background sheet simply stated that the administration invested in local infrastructure. Said the White House fact-sheet: "Joe runs an architectural firm with five employees. He was able to keep two of their employees that otherwise would have been laid off to work on a police station renovation that received infrastructure funding. Joe is hopeful that he will hire an additional employee as the economy continues to improve and additional projects, some of which could be funded by the Recovery Act, are secured." The fact sheet credited the stimulus, however, with helping Rhonda Weithman maintain health insurance coverage after she was laid off from a job. Press reports after Obama's appearance widely credited the stimulus with the police station renovation, saying the stimulus saved jobs at the Mull & Weithman firm. Asked about the president's misstatement, White House spokesman Matt Lehrich told The Plain Dealer, "The President's trip to Columbus was, in part, to highlight the role that small businesses, like Joe's, will play in creating jobs in communities across the country. That's a fact and it's why he's been urging Republicans to stop blocking a proposal to cut taxes for small businesses that are looking to grow and hire more workers." Garrette Silverman, spokeswoman for Voinovich, said that while credit for the Columbus project belongs with the lawmakers, this could be a chance for Obama to get something else right. "While the White House may have been off the mark with the funding source for this project -- as they were with much of the stimulus, which was not focused on infrastructure -- the president has an opportunity to correct himself by supporting a robust, multi-year highway bill that will truly put Americans back to work," she said. ====== Actually, *my* police station project was originally scheduled to receive $100,000 in ARRA money, but the city eventually determined that the money came with too many strings attached, would increase the project cost, and would cause too many delays, so they told the federal government no thanks. |
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"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685. "Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous "Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011 I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14 | |
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4:34 PM Jul 10