Once again evidence is coming out showing that money President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus may not have created the sorts of jobs touted by the administration.
Obama Energy Secretary Stephen Chu claimed that thousands of green energy jobs were created as a result of $10 billion of grants issued as a result of the stimulus, but the House Energy and Commerce Committee has found that his claim was false.
Instead, a recent Treasury Department finding released Friday by the committee disclosed that :
“Job creation is not one of the statutory requirements for eligibility and thus it is not a factor in the consideration process. Because the 1603 program’s primary focus is on domestic renewable energy production, Treasury also does not report on the number of jobs created by the program.”
Even worse, the Energy Department’s own internal estimate suggests that it is impossible to tell how many jobs are directly to the grants it gave out to back green-energy industries. This news comes as the Obama administration is asking for yet more money.
And the committee reaffirmed a report by the Wall Street Journal shows “evidence of far fewer (jobs)” and that some plants laid off workers while others closed.
“Today’s weaker than expected job creation figures are a reminder that millions of Americans are still looking for work. It’s essential to understand what happened to the billions of dollars pushed out the door as part of the stimulus program as we work toward a stronger economic recovery, and particularly as the president urges more spending on his favored programs,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns, R-Fla.
Funds disbursed under the 1603 program account for only one-third of all green energy expenditures under the $30 billion spend under the stimulus.
