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Feds to Scrutinize State Stimulus Spending
by Ward Schaefer
April 22, 2009
Federal officials will train a close eye on how Mississippi spends its share of the federal stimulus package. At a summit for state agencies, county and municipal governments and businesses April 16, State Auditor Stacey Pickering said that the federal Government Accountability Office will monitor Mississippi’s stimulus spending, and spending in 15 other states, for its effectiveness at creating and retaining jobs. Citing the example of federal Katrina relief funds, Pickering cautioned agency heads that citizens and federal officials want to see stimulus funds spent where they are most needed.
“The public has a huge expectation of each of us in this room,” he said. “We’ve got a huge trust to protect.”
Pickering, a Republican, betrayed some frustration with the stimulus package, calling its stringent accountability requirements an “underfunded mandate.”
“There’s no specific funds set aside for you or I to spend on accountability,” Pickering explained.
Mississippi is slated to receive up to $2.8 billion from the stimulus package, which Congress passed in February as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The state will apply roughly $1.2 billion of that to fiscal stabilization for education and Medicaid.
The state Department of Education will receive $392 million to ensure that the Mississippi Adequate Education Program is fully funded for 2010 and 2011. MAEP levels funding for low-income school districts, and suffered a $76 million cut this year commensurate with cuts in other state programs.
Joey Deason, deputy director of the Mississippi Development Authority, told attendees that MDA will receive roughly $158 million, including $50 million for improving energy efficiency and advancing clean-energy projects in the state.
MDA will also administer $11 million for a program to address housing needs in Jackson. The funds can be used for demolition and redevelopment of abandoned or foreclosed houses, with the aim of serving people making less than half the median income of the surrounding area. In 2007, median income for Jackson was $32,982, while it was $38,260 for Hinds County.
posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 04/22/09 at 03:21 PM. [printer version] Share |
COMMENTS
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Mar 09, 2010 | 10:30 PM[Editor's Note] Happiness Worth Celebrating
J.T.: Thanks, Ronni. You did a masterful job on this piece!!!!
Mar 09, 2010 | 05:52 PM
White Sorority Wins Step-Off
Walt: Blackwatch, speaking of tradition, I'm taken back to 1978 when Gamma Upsilon decided to break tradition and do a nasty greek show. One of our brothers said he was tired of another ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 03:01 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
itodd: When I take tests on campus, it bugs me to death that I must show ID. Of all things, ID? I mean, what are the odds of a student being desperate enough to hire a brainy-whiz like ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 02:59 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
ladd: That may be true about Indiana, Bubba, whether or not it's causal. I actually think the importance from a voting standpoint of fighting voter ID is diminishing rapidly. I'm against ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 02:51 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
BubbaT: Donna- if you do a little searching on voter id, there is a study on Indiania,which has the strictest voter id requirements, that voter turn out has actually increase since they ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 02:49 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
jbreland: Somebody should videotape themselves voting as someone else on more than one occasion during the next election. Politico, here I come. I mean, could voter ID really stop a ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 02:42 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
BubbaT: Jess- I never said voter fraud was a problem, did I? Did you even read what I posted "even if voter fraud rarely happens now." Everything you mentioned were wrongs of the past, why ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 02:21 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
ladd: Just cross-posted with Todd (jinx!), but I will add that there is more actual evidence that gun registration would make a bigger difference than voter ID. It is a vanity wedge issue ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 02:18 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
ladd: The irony of voter ID has long been that its strongest proponents are the same people who claim to not want further regulation without demonstration of need. And they have shown no ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 02:16 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
itodd: Voting is the most important thing we do as U.S. citizens, why not have an extra safeguard that it's done legally? We safeguard lots of other things by requiring a photo id that are ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 02:09 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
justjess: BubbaT, before I write this off as another attempt by Republicans, Birthers and Tea Party or a coctail, RepublicBirthTea (RBT) let me ask you this. If voter fraud is a problem in ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 01:32 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
BubbaT: Jess- Yes it is smart,cost effective and does guarantee that the problem never will exist,even if voter fraud rarely happens now. Voting is the most important thing we do as U.S. ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 12:59 PM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
justjess: BubbaT, Yes, I missed that part. So the State would be willing to use tax payer funds to pay workers to make free IDs. This is real smart, cost effective and guaranteed to ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 12:08 PM
Lawmakers Debate Alternate Education Track
Izzy: It is an interesting question - why the students "don't want to do that" and what our obligation is to educate them both as citizens and for job preparation. I'm ...
Mar 09, 2010 | 11:53 AM
Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote
BubbaT: Jess- you must have missed this part of the article. "The Constitutional amendment would also provide that voters could receive a FREE photo ID from the Department of Public ...
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