Palmetto Scoop: CONGRESSMAN TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION CALLING FOR CREATION OF OVERSIGHT COMMISSION

https://www.palmettoscoop.com/2009/12/09/wilson-calls-for-stimulus-audit/

CONGRESSMAN TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION CALLING FOR CREATION OF OVERSIGHT COMMISSION

South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson on Wednesday will join with two other U.S. representatives in calling for an audit of the federal government’s stimulus spending.

Wilson and Reps. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), and Mark Souder (R-Ind.) will introduce legislation to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the effects of the stimulus bill, a $787 billion bill passed earlier this year to create jobs and boost the economy.

The ten member panel will be appointed by the President and both Democrat and Republican leaders in the House and Senate to look into how many jobs have actually been saved or created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The commission will also explore the circumstances in which those jobs have been saved or created and the effectiveness of measures taken to prevent the improper payment of funds.

A spokesperson for Wilson said that, 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.

Earlier this month, Wilson sent a letter to his colleagues encouraging them to sign onto the National Commission on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Wilson’s letter came after controversy surrounding the Obama Administration’s new www.recovery.gov website, which was set up to track the stimulus spending.

The website claimed the government had spent more than $40 million to create 155 jobs in South Carolina’s 12th, 16th, 32nd, 43rd, and 45th Congressional districts. None of those Congressional districts, however, actually exist.

“The reality of the situation is that Recovery.gov, the official Administration website charged with reporting abuse was its own worst offender,” Wilson wrote in the letter. “It is full of fake stimulus jobs in fake Congressional districts. The Government Accountability Office says that one out of every 10 jobs created by the stimulus are also fake.”