Stimulus Fraud: Your tax dollars at work!

In Obama's Chicago, stimulus weatherization money buys shoddy work, widespread fraud

Excerpt:

The study, by the Department's inspector general, examined the work of what's called the Weatherization Assistance Program, or WAP, in Illinois. Last year, the Department awarded Illinois $242 million, which was expected to pay for the weatherization of 27,000 homes. Specifically, Energy Department inspectors took a close look at the troubled operations of the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County, known as CEDA, which is the largest recipient of weatherization money in Illinois with $91 million to weatherize 12,500 homes. (Cook County is, of course, home to Chicago.)

The findings are grim. "Our testing revealed substandard performance in weatherization workmanship, initial assessments, and contractor billing," the inspector general report says. "These problems were of such significance that they put the integrity of the entire program at risk."

Department inspectors visited 15 homes that were being weatherized by CEDA and paid for by stimulus funds. "We found that 14 of the 15 homes…failed final inspection because of poor workmanship and/or inadequate initial assessments," the report says. In eight of the homes, CEDA had come up with unworkable and ineffective plans -- like putting attic insulation in a house with a leaky roof. In ten of the homes, "contractors billed for labor charges that had not been incurred and for materials that had not been installed." The report calls billing problems "pervasive," with seven of ten contractors being cited for erroneous invoicing. And the department found "a 62 percent final inspection error rate" when CEDA inspectors reviewed their own work.

The work was not just wasteful; it was dangerous. Department inspectors found "heat barriers around chimneys that had not been installed, causing fire hazards." They found "a furnace [that] had not been vented properly." The found "a shut-off valve that had not been installed on a gas stove." And they found "carbon monoxide detectors, smoke alarms and fire extinguishers had not been installed as planned."

And then there was fraud. At ten of the 15 homes visited, Department inspectors found examples in which "a contractor had installed a 125,000 BTU boiler, but had billed CEDA for a 200,000 BTU boiler costing an estimated $1,000. more." Another contractor "billed for almost four times the amount of drywall actually installed." And another "installed 12 light bulbs but had billed CEDA for 20." (The Department found that CEDA paid almost three times the retail price for each light bulb.) "Billing issues appeared to be pervasive," the report concludes.

Meanwhile: Obama By The Numbers

• $26.2 Trillion: Projected Federal Debt In 2020 Due To Obama’s Binge Spending. (OMB, 7/23/10)
  
• $13.6 Trillion: Current National Debt. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 10/19/10)
  
• $8.5 Trillion: Cumulative Deficits Caused By President Obama’s Proposed Budget, FY2011-2020. (OMB, 7/23/10)
  
• $3.9 Trillion: Total Cost Of The Democrats’ Tax Hike To Taxpayers. (Joint Committee On Taxation, 8/6/10)
  
• $3.0 Trillion: Amount Added To The National Debt Since Obama Took Office. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 10/19/10)
  
• $2.5 Trillion: True Cost Of ObamaCare Once Fully Implemented. (Sen. Max Baucus, Floor Remarks, 12/2/09)
  
• $1.42 Trillion: Federal Budget Deficit For FY2009 – Highest In U.S. History. (Congressional Budget Office, 10/7/10)
  
• $1.29 Trillion: Federal Budget Deficit For FY2010 – Second Highest In U.S. History. (Congressional Budget Office, 10/7/10)
  
• $868.4 Billion: American Debt Held By China. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 10/19/10)
  
• $831 Billion: Net Interest Payment On Our National Debt In 2020 Due To Obama’s Budget. (OMB, 7/23/10)
  
• $814 Billion: Price Tag Of Obama’s Failed Stimulus. (Bloomberg, 8/20/10)
  
• $575 Billion: Amount Of Medicare Cuts In ObamaCare. (CMS Chief Actuary Richard S. Foster, Memo, 4/22/10)
  
• $569.2 Billion: Amount Of Taxes In ObamaCare. (Letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 3/18/10)
  
• $10 Billion: The Cost Of The Teacher Union Bailout. (The Washington Post, 10/8/10)
  
• $54 Million: Amount Of Stimulus Funds Spent On A Napa Valley Wine Train. (ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” 2/2/10)
  
• 41.8 Million: Number Of Americans Receiving Food Stamps. (Bloomberg, 10/5/10)
  
• 40 Million: Number Of Businesses That Will Be Burdened By The Onerous IRS 1099 Requirement. (The Washington Post, 8/29/10)
  
• $18 Million: Cost Of The Stimulus Website Recovery.org. (ABC News’ “The Note“ Blog, 7/8/09)
  
• 14.8 Million: Unemployed Americans. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/8/10)
  
• 9.5 Million: Americans Working Part-Time For Economic Reasons. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/8/10)
  
• 6.1 Million: Americans Unemployed For Longer Than 27 Weeks. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/8/10)
  
• 5.4 Million: Number Of Properties Receiving Foreclosure Filings Since Obama Took Office. (RealtyTrac, Accessed 10/19/10)
  
• 3.8 Million: Increase In the Number Of People Who Were In Poverty In 2009 Over 2008. (NPR, 9/16/10)
  
• 2.6 Million: Jobs Lost Since Stimulus Was Passed. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/8/10)
  
• 2.3 Million: Private Sector Jobs Lost Since Stimulus Was Passed. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/8/10)
  
• 1.2 Million: Americans That Have Given Up Looking For Work. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/8/10)
  
• 964,900: Number Of Jobs That Could Be Lost Per Year Under Cap And Trade. (Tax Foundation, 3/09)
  
• 89,000: The Number Of Stimulus Checks Sent to Dead Or Incarcerated People. (The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire" Blog, 10/7/10)
  
• $43,000: Your Share Of The National Debt. (“The Daily History Of The Debt Results,” TreasuryDirect, Accessed 10/19/10; U.S. Census Bureau, www.census.gov, Accessed 10/19/10)