COLUMBUS, Ohio — Responding to a question Thursday at the 2010 Ohio State Fair on a contracting miscue that sent jobs funded by federal stimulus money to Central America, Ohio Gov. Strickland said he was disappointed to hear about the misuse of funds intended to administer
"I'm incredibly disappointed and determined never to let it happen again," Strickland said following an event at the 157th Ohio State Fair.
Running this year for a second term, Strickland said it should never have happened and that he and his administration were unaware that the company would outsource the jobs to another country.
"Perhaps we could have done a better job of vetting the company but going forward, I can assure you, whenever we let a contract, we're going to ask the question very definitely, and any company that's going to outsource jobs, using these resources or other state resources, will not receive a contract from us. I'm disappointed that it happened and I'm determined that it will never happen again."
The political flap over how Parago, a Texas-based company Ohio contracted with to administer the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, sent these jobs to Central America has already triggered three Ohio Republican congressmen - Bob Latta from northwest Ohio, John Boehner from
In a statement, Latta said, "As President Obama and Governor Strickland continue to tout the 'success' of the 'stimulus package' in the face of record high unemployment, this story only confirms the fact that independent oversight is long overdue, which we called for last year. It is beyond comprehension that not only was this project outsourced to another state, but that these jobs would eventually end up overseas."
Boehner, in his media release, said, "The White House, with the support of Governor Strickland, pledged that the 'stimulus' would create jobs immediately in our state, yet more than 100,000 Ohioans have lost their jobs since this trillion-dollar bill was enacted. Gov. Strickland owes Ohio families asking 'Where are the jobs?' an explanation as to why 'stimulus' funds allocated by his administration were used to create jobs in Central America, and why he has repeatedly refused to establish an independent, bipartisan panel to prevent this misuse of taxpayer dollars."
"This just reinforces the need to have better oversight over the stimulus funds," LaTourette said, according to WKYC-TV. He added, "It's no wonder only 6 percent of Americans believe that the Stimulus Bill created any jobs. To be fair, it does look like Governor Strickland used the funds to create some jobs -- in Central America."
When the matter of giving Parago $10.5 million to administer the appliance rebate program for Ohio came in early March before Ohio's Controlling Board, a bi-partisan legislative spending oversight panel, the simple 4-3 majority vote was along party lines.
According to information at the time on the project, nine companies submitted proposals to run the program, two of which were based in Ohio. Parago was selected based on its strengths including experience with appliance-based rebates and was to be paid $357,300 to cover administrative costs.
Published reports at the time said Parago had 795 consumer complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau in the last three years against it, but that the company had an A+ rating from BBB.
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Comments
It is beyond the pale that a state government would even outsource stimulus work to a Texas company let alone out of the country offshore workers. America is a stupid place. Stupid!!!!!
I am still waiting for my rebate. We sent in the original in May and they lost it! We sent a copy in June and no word! I am on hold with them right now as I am typing this. They have no clue.
Am I even talking to somebody in the US???
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