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What Delayed the Stimulus Projects

The stimulus projects like the home weatherization, transportation security upgrades, as well as the housing surveillance cameras, were delayed because of the red tape. The reason for the delayed implementation was given as the various rules included in administering the projects. Rules say that only American material should be used and that federal agencies should consider the consequences of the projects on any of the historic sites close by. All these conditions were making it hard for the agencies from using the stimulus money. The contractors also had to agree to the conditions that they will pay the wages prevailing in that locality which made it hard to find contractors who agree to this.

Mitch McConnell, the leader of the senate minority, requested this report from the non-partisan GAO. This report gave more ammunition to the fight about how effective the stimulus has been after a year since it was passed. As an argument, a White House Office and Management spokesman said that the package was put together to ensure that every opportunity of the Recovery Act is made available for American workers as well as companies.

One of the new features of this stimulus package was that all the recipients of the weatherization program of the energy department had to comply with the Davis Bacon requirement for wages. This was whole heartedly supported by the unions. The GAO says that, these features delayed the implementation of the projects a lot and where 593,000 homes were expected to be weatherized; only 9,100 were done. Having to comply with numerous conditions of the stimulus is held responsible for delaying the implementation of projects.

In contrast, the DOE says that the figures mentioned in these reports are out of date and they claim that after the fall, the issues regarding wages and preservation have been resolved in all the states. It also says that it has weatherized 124,000 homes as opposed to a much smaller number mentioned in the report, by the end of the year.

The conditions that say Buy American made the process more complicated as a lot of materials had to be re-bought as they were not made in America. The Housing Authority of Chicago had to order new security cameras although the ones they wanted weren’t manufactured in America. Although the intentions are good with using only American goods, the difficulty in implementing this condition must have been considered while drawing the plans.

Other conditions stated in the stimulus package included seeking permission from state historic preservation agencies. This further delayed the projects like upgrading Amtrak rail stations. The same rules had to be applied for upgrading bridges and tunnels. The government report points the reason for the delays clearly at the conditions mentioned although the DOE claims that the report isn’t very precise. The delay in the implementation of the stimulus isn’t surprising and the fact that it is spread for a span of 2 years limits its effectiveness.

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