For more information on the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 click here.

WABI TV5 SCRIPT (FEBRUARY 9, 2010)

PRESIDENT OBAMA ESTIMATES HIS ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN HAS CREATED OR SAVED UP TO TWO-MILLION JOBS.

THE ANALYSIS IS PART OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S QUARTERLY REPORT TO CONGRESS ON THE CONTROVERSIAL 7-HUNDRED 90-BILLION RECOVERY PACKAGE OF SPENDING AND TAX CUTS.

BUT WHERE ARE THE JOBS IN MAINE? TONIGHT WE CONTINUE TO DIG FOR THE ANSWERS.

CENTRAL MAINE BUREAU CHIEF ADRIENNE BENNETT ASKED TOP STATE OFFICIALS THAT QUESTION.


AS TWO-BILLION DOLLARS IS FILTERED INTO MAINE FROM THE RECOVERY ACT - STATE OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN REQUIRED TO REPORT ON WHERE THAT MONEY GOES AND WHAT JOBS ARE CREATED OR SAVED FROM IT.

BUT GETTING A STRAIGHT ANSWER ISN'T THAT EASY.

Adrienne Bennett: "Why is is so hard to get the numbers?"
Ryan Low: "The employment side is not as simple as going out and counting heads."

RYAN LOW HEADS UP THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES...HE'S BEEN GIVEN THE JOB OF TRACKING DOWN WHERE ALL THE FEDERAL DOLLARS FLOW IN MAINE.

BACK IN THE FALL, WHEN STATES BEGAN REPORTING ON HOW RECOVERY MONEY WAS BEING USED, ADDING UP THE NUMBERS WAS EVEN DIFFICULT FOR EXPERTS.

Anne Mathias: "The idea that the administration could say a plus b equals c and come up with a number, that's not something that was ever going to be realistic"

SO THE FORMULA WAS CHANGED.

Ryan Low: "In some cases, maybe the recovery funds are supporting a portion of a salary of a teacher. In another case, they may be supporting a full-time construction worker, so lots of different programs and methodologies for calculating these, so it's proven very complex that's one of the reasons why we've seen the change."

THE HOPE WAS TO CLEAR UP CONFUSION BY SIMPLIFYING THE DATA.

Ryan Low: "Folks will be able to go in and search for recovery projects by zip code. They'll be able to see the contracts, contact information, see projects by county."

IN MAINE'S RECOVERY ACT REPORT, GOVERNOR BALDACCI HAS SAID, "MAINE COULD SEE 15-THOUSAND JOBS THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE IMPLEMENTATION."

12-HUNDRED JOBS BEING CREATED SO FAR ACCORDING TO INFORMATION ON THE STATE'S WEBSITE.

BUT SOME OF THE NUMBERS DON'T SEEM TO ADD UP

TAKE EDUCATION FOR EXAMPLE...NEARLY 20 MILLION HAS BEEN SPENT BY THAT DEPARTMENT...THE SITE SAYS 1-HUNDRED 42 JOBS HAVE BEEN SAVED OR CREATED WITH THAT MONEY.

Adrienne Bennett: "What kinds of jobs are we talking about?"
Ryan Low: "A lot of teachers."

Rep. Darrell Issa (R) California: "It's not going to define how many jobs were in fact saved as a result of our money going to the states or the cities. It's still going to basically be money spent and a guess about number of jobs."

REPUBLICANS HAVE DENOUNCED THE STIMULUS PLAN AS AN EXPENSIVE FLOP.

Josh Tardy: "The money helped maybe preserving jobs, I'm not sure I can accept the representation that it created jobs. I have a particular concern about whether it's going to have a long term impact that's going to create more of a hole."

Adrienne Bennett:"What happens when all the money is gone?

Josh Tardy: "It will give us an opportunity and a mandate to boldly reconstruct government, to look at a government we can afford."

Print this Story

Recent Stories