Today is the deadline for all 50 states to appropriate 50% of the highway stimulus that the federal government will give them. Eventually all of the money will be used for roads, highways, interstates and bridges, but it seems that the purpose of the June 29 deadline was simply to get the projects underway ASAP.
All of the states beat the stimulus deadline, with Hawaii being the last to do so on June 19, CNN Money reported. If any state had failed to meet the deadline, it would have lost some of the funds intended for it. Understanding the consequences of procrastination, the states responded quickly, and, a month before the deadline, only four states had not appropriated the money.
Maine was the first state to assign projects for all of the highway stimulus money it will receive, reported Bangor Daily News. Maine is set to get more than $130 million.
USA Today said that, as of last week, the federal government had only sent the states about $132 million of the $27.5 billion of road construction money.
Vice President Joe Biden, who is overseeing the spending of all stimulus money, met with the Recovery Act Implementation Cabinet recently, reported the Associated Press. He declared that, not only had all states beat the deadline, but that over 5,300 projects got approval from transportation officials. Those projects accounted for more than $19 billion of highway stimulus money. About 1,900 of the projects are already underway.
Biden said, "Our No. 1 priority with the Recovery Act is getting folks back to work, and there is no better way to do that in these early days than by putting shovels in the ground and jump-starting projects like these that create jobs and boost local communities"
The Associated Press reported, “Counties where unemployment is below 6.1 percent will receive about $63 per person in transportation money, compared to $52 per person in counties where unemployment is between 10.8 and 28 percent, according to an Associated Press analysis.”
In other words, counties with the most need will not receive the most aid.
Many have also criticized the slow pace at which money has been distributed. According to USA Today, Representative John Mica, who is on the Transportation Committee, said, "There should be no reason why, with the economy in dire straits, that we can't get the money out there. It's tied up in red tape."
Vice President Biden defended the administration, saying, "I know it's hard to convince people that when we lost 345,000 jobs last month that we actually created or saved 150,000. I keep referring people to the fact that it was projected to be 500,000."
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood also defended stimulus spending, saying, "Recovery dollars for transportation projects continue to move at a record pace, creating jobs in communities across the nation. I'm very proud of our record."
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