Feingold’s Stimulus Won’t Abandon Ship
[Oshkosh, WI] In 2009, Russ Feingold voted for a stimulus bill he said would create jobs and pontificated that the funds should be spent wisely. But since that time Wisconsin has lost more than 78,000 jobs, Feingold is defending his vote, and a new report details 100 egregious examples of unwise stimulus spending.
A large broken-down ship known as “the Queen of the Lakes” will receive $200,000 in stimulus-funding despite the fact that its own city, Toledo, OH, discontinued funding for the ship-turned-museum in 2007. The ship is only open to the public April through October. It averages 6,000 visitors yearly, or about 30 visitors per day.
After both saying stimulus dollars should be spent wisely and subsequently defending his vote, it looks like Russ Feingold approves of projects that are a total waste of taxpayer resources while failing to provide real solutions to Wisconsin’s economic crisis.
“If Toledo does not believe that funding this ship is an adequate use of funds, why should Wisconsin taxpayers be asked to foot the bill?” said Juston Johnson, Campaign Manager for Ron Johnson for Senate. “$200,000 of taxpayer money to fix up a ship museum that sees little traffic doesn’t appear to be beneficial to those in Wisconsin suffering through this economic crisis.”
The Johnson Campaign will be highlighting wasteful stimulus spending projects Russ Feingold believes are getting the job done for Wisconsin families until Election Day.
Stimulus Facts:
Feingold Said “Stimulus” Must Be Spent Wisely. “Now that the economic recovery package has been signed into law, our focus must be on the challenges ahead, including getting our fiscal house in order and making sure that there is strong oversight of these taxpayer dollars. These funds must be spent wisely if they are to truly work for Wisconsin’s families.” (Editorial, “Russ Feingold: Stimulus Package Makes Sense,” La Crosse Tribune, 2/25/2009.)
Three days prior to the signing of the stimulus, Senator Feingold issued a press release saying the stimulus would create 2.4 million jobs in the first year, and about nine million jobs in the first three years. (Senator Russ Feingold, ”Statement of U.S. Russ Feingold On The Economic Recovery Package,” Feingold Press Office, February 10, 2009.)
Feingold Provided the 60th Vote for the Stimulus Package. (H.R. 1, 2009 Roll Call #64: Adopted 60-38, 2/13/09, Feingold Voted Yea)
The National Economy has lost over 2.5 Million jobs since the stimulus was signed. (Source, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov,, Accessed August 6, 2010)
Since the Stimulus was signed, the State of Wisconsin has lost more than 78,000 jobs. (Source, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed August 20, 2010)
Feingold Defends Stimulus Vote. “I don’t apologize for those votes. Those were the right votes.” (“Feingold defends voting record, Hudson Star Observer, 7/28/2010)
New Report Details Misdirected Stimulus Spending. “Stimulus money is going toward iPods for high school students in Utah, cell phones for smokers trying to quit in Washington, D.C., and advertising devoted to the promotion of … the stimulus. The findings are part of a 74-page report put out by a pair of Republican senators who contend the $862 billion program is fraught with needless spending.” (“New GOP Report Details Misdirected Stimulus Spending, Associated Press, 8/3/2010)
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