Corruption? Hillary Clinton's pal awarded millions in stimulus money

Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton’s former political strategist, received $6 million in stimulus money to preserve three jobs in his firms, according to US Representative Joe Wilson and other lawmakers. 

Congressman Wilson said, “It’s time for Congress to demand answers on behalf of the hardworking taxpayers that we represent.  The misnamed stimulus is one of the largest spending bills in our nation’s history and it is critical that American taxpayers receive adequate answers as to the whereabouts of stimulus funds.  I can not fathom how Hillary Clinton’s pollster received $6 million to preserve just three jobs when that could sustain dozens of South Carolina’s families for life.  I urge Speaker Pelosi to consider our legislation to ensure full accountability of every stimulus dollar spent.”

What do you get for $18 million? 

"What do you get for $18 million?  The Obama Administration’s web site allegedly created phony congressional districts and fishy jobs numbers.  It’s time to pull back the curtain and get some of that transparency and accountability promised on the campaign trail.  Until this Administration can provide the American people with an accurate accounting of their record breaking spending scheme, Congress should dry out the trough," said Rep. Jack Kingston.

Meanwhile Congressman Mark Souder is on record as saying, “Not only has the stimulus failed in its goal of reining in rising unemployment, the published report tracking the funds revealed imprecise statistics, nonexistent congressional districts and significantly overstated the number of jobs created. I am pleased to join Congressman Joe Wilson on this important legislation to put an end to this unaccountable stimulus spending spree. During this time of economic recession, Hoosier taxpayers deserve to know where and how their dollars are being spent.”

Congressman Jeff Miller added, “In my home state of Florida 52 jobs were created in the 34th Congressional District, according to the Recovery.gov website.  46 jobs were created in District 00. We all know now that these districts simply don’t exist.  How can the Administration expect us to trust their dubious jobs numbers when they can’t even manage their own website?  We need an audit of this spending immediately.”

These congressmen point to a part of the stimulus legislation that calls for an investigation in order to determine the effectiveness of this multi-billion dollar spending spree.

H.R. 4219, the National Commission on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act  will create a ten member panel, appointed by the President and Democrat and Republican leaders in the House and Senate, will investigate how many jobs have actually been saved or created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5); the circumstances in which those jobs have been saved or created; and, the effectiveness of measures taken to prevent the improper payment of funds. 

Following the investigation, the Commission will make recommendations on what changes could be made to save or create more jobs and what steps can be taken to prevent the improper allocation of taxpayer dollars.

Last week, news broke regarding the fraudulent information discovered on President Obama's newly created web site Recovery.gov. The Obama administration claimed it created jobs at companies that did not exist, in congressional districts that did not exist, with employees that did not exist.