Boxer's "Stimulus": Nothing But An Empty Lot

Statement

U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina today made the following statement in response to the recently released Coburn McCain report outlining 100 "stimulus" projects that have been a deplorable use of taxpayer money and, in many cases, not only failed to create jobs but have actually eliminated jobs:

"As the economy has slowed, consumer spending has fallen flat and unemployment sits at record highs, Barbara Boxer has the audacity to continue to look Californians in the eye and claim the stimulus is working. There's no doubt the $862 billion taxpayer-funded stimulus package has failed to deliver the jobs Barbara Boxer promised it would; today, we're learning even more about the egregious spending authorized under the plan.

"A full $308 million in our tax dollars are going to a BP-owned company to build a plant that has yet to break ground. Another $2 million has been allocated to photograph exotic ants in San Francisco. Boeing -- who is now taking their business and jobs to Oklahoma because of the high cost of doing business in California -- received a 'no-bid contract worth nearly $16 million in stimulus money to clean up a California site it helped pollute.' That's not to mention more than $100,000 in funding for a building that, at this point, is nothing but an empty lot. Unfortunately, this kind of ridiculous use of taxpayer dollars is an all too common occurrence in Washington, yet Barbara Boxer continues to cast votes to perpetuate this system and pay for it with higher taxes. Californians deserve better. As your senator, I will stand up and be held accountable to deliver on policies that encourage real job creation, not produce empty lots and pictures of ants."

*CA Stimulus Project: Picture of "Progress" to Lifelong Politician Barbara Boxer

WASTEFUL CALIFORNIA STIMULUS PROJECTS

A Sampling Of The Wasteful California Projects Identified In The McCain-Coburn Stimulus Book:

In San Francisco, The California Academy Of Science Will Receive Nearly $2 Million To "Capture, Photograph, And Analyze Thousands Of Exotic Ants." "Ants Talk. Taxpayers Listen (San Francisco, CA) - $1.9 million … The California Academy of Sciences is receiving nearly $2 million to send researchers to the Southwest Indian Ocean Islands and east Africa, to capture, photograph, and analyze thousands of exotic ants. The photographs of the ants -- over 3,000 species' worth, according to the grant proposal -- will be posted on AntWeb, a website devoted to organizing and displaying pictures and information on the world's thousands of ant species." ("Summertime Blues," Offices Of Sen. Tom Coburn And Sen. John McCain, 8/10)

In Kern County, BP-Owned Hydrogen Energy California Was Awarded $308 Million For The Construction Of A Power Plant In December 2011. "Power Plant Construction Won't Start for at Least Two Years (Kern County, CA) - $308 million … BP may have found itself staring down huge financial losses over the past several months, but executives can take solace knowing that a stimulus windfall will help offset them. On September 28, 2009, Hydrogen Energy California, LLC (HECA), owned largely by BP, was awarded $308 million in stimulus funds to 'generate more environmentally friendly electricity by capturing carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.' HECA is a joint venture of BP Alternative Energy North America and Rio Tinto subsidiaries. Stimulus funds 'enabled continued development of the HECA project which otherwise would have been cancelled.' Construction is not expected to begin until December 2011, nearly three years after the passage of the Recovery Act, raising serious questions about whether it is anywhere near 'shovel-ready.'" ("Summertime Blues," Offices Of Sen. Tom Coburn And Sen. John McCain, 8/10)

In Simi Valley, Boeing Received A "No-Bid Contract Worth Nearly $16 Million In Stimulus Money To Clean Up A California Site It Helped Pollute." "Firm Gets No-Bid Environmental Cleanup Contract -- for a Mess It Helped Make (Simi Valley, CA) - $15.8 million … It's the 'Pottery Barn' rule in reverse: you break it, you get paid for it. Aerospace giant Boeing received a no-bid contract worth nearly $16 million in stimulus money to clean up a California site it helped pollute. The facility, the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, was built in the 1940s, and has been used for engine testing and nuclear power work; Boeing has owned it since 1996. In 2007, local authorities fined Boeing $471,000 for dozens of pollution violations at the site, which poisoned wastewater and storm runoff that ended up in the Los Angeles River." ("Summertime Blues," Offices Of Sen. Tom Coburn And Sen. John McCain, 8/10)

*In Glendale, New Horizons Family Center Received A $131,000 Grant For The Construction Of A Low-Income Child Care Facility That Has Already Suffered Years Of Delays And Has Not Begun Construction. "Youth Center Awarded Grant May Not Get Built (Glendale, CA) - $131,000 … 'You're all going to be wearing hard hats in April,' Maria Rochart, executive director of New Horizons Family Center, declared in March about the impending construction on New Horizons Family Center's child-care facilities. Today, the project does not appear any closer to starting. Nearly a year ago, New Horizons was awarded $131,000 in grant funding for the construction of a new facility to care for low-income kids after school. According to the Glendale News-Press, 'Construction on New Horizons Family Center's long-awaited 'Children's Village Nuestra Casa' was to begin last spring after years of delays and hundreds of thousands in government funding. But months after the nonprofit's founder told city commissioners the project was about to break ground, the lot on the 1200 block of South Maryland Avenue sits unchanged.'" ("Summertime Blues," Offices Of Sen. Tom Coburn And Sen. John McCain, 8/10)

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