Nov 18, 2009 7:01 pm US/Eastern
Confusion Over Site Tracking Stimulus Money
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
President Obama promised it would be easy to track how economic stimulus funds – nearly $1 trillion worth – are being spent. To make that happen, the federal government set up the website "recovery.gov."
But a quick stop at that website Wednesday morning left Eyewitness News with more questions than answers.
Recovery.gov is supposed to break down recovery spending by state and then by congressional district. But in all three local states, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, the website listed congressional districts that don't exist, at least until Wednesday morning.
"It does have to concern you," said Rep. Mike Castle, republican congressman from Delaware.
Castle is the only congressman in Delaware – there is just one congressional district – yet the website listed five others: the "00", "2nd", "35th", "38th" and "99th."
A combined $81 million was listed as being spent in those districts.
"It's shocking to know that Delaware's population has expanded some six-fold," said Rep. Castle, speaking via satellite from Washington. "All of the sudden we have congressional districts I've never heard of, up to the 99th congressional district, no less."
Pennsylvania was also awarded five additional districts. New Jersey, however, was the local winner, with 18 additional congressional districts. The state only has 13 real districts, yet "recovery.gov" listed a total of 31. That included a phantom 40th district, where 384 jobs were listed as being created.
"There absolutely needs to be accountability," said Zack Stalberg, with Philadelphia's Committee of Seventy, a government watchdog group. "It's great that there's a website, but it needs to be correct or else it has no value whatsoever and undermines people's belief in the whole program."
Edward Pound, a spokesman for the website says it does not appear that this money is missing. Instead, he blamed "human error.". He says the government relies on the people who receive the money to report back how and where it's being spent.
When it comes to congressional districts, Pound says recipients must choose one from a drop-down menu that includes all numbers between one and 99. Apparently, those recipients are not choosing the correct districts.
Pound says workers are trying to correct the problem as quickly as possible.
As of Wednesday afternoon, most of those phantom congressional districts had disappeared.
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