A company owned by the husband of Democratic senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina received taxpayer money for a green energy project through the federal stimulus of 2009, later revising down the project’s estimated cost and keeping the difference.
Don Carrington at the Carolina Journal, a publication of the conservative John Locke Foundation, has the scoop on how JDC Manufacturing, co-owned by Chip Hagan kept savings from a stimulus grant instead of returning the money to taxpayers:
Also, JDC’s decision to hire Solardyne/Green State Power, a separate company co-owned by Chip Hagan and the Hagans’ son Tilden, to install a portion of the stimulus-funded energy project at the JDC building appears to violate a conflict-of-interest provision that was included as part of the original application for the stimulus grant.
Read the whole thing here, which details how Hagan’s company contributed a smaller investment in the project as originally outlined in its application for the federal grant. Kay Hagan voted for the stimulus bill that provided for the grant.
The Democratic senator is in a tough and tight reelection battle against Republican challenger Thom Tillis. Hagan has led in most recent polls, though some observers in North Carolina suggest she may be “maxing out” her support well below the 50 percent threshold.
