The small town of Stanley, Va., figured on spending its nearly $40,000 share of federal stimulus funds to start replacing its aging fleet of four police cars.
But Stanley learned last summer that the federal government wouldn't release the town's stimulus money. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was worried that the town's plans to buy Dodge, Ford or Chevrolet police cars assembled in Canada could violate the "Buy American" provisions of the American Recovery and Investment Act, records show.
"The situation has put our town of Stanley in an extreme hardship trying to provide public safety to our community," Police Chief Tim Foster later wrote in letters to Congress.
The situation in Stanley, though later resolved in the town's favor according to Chief Foster, illustrates a broader problem facing federal agencies and local and state governments. Tasked with spending hundreds of billions of dollars on "shovel ready" projects, officials are finding that a host of rules governing where, when and how money is spent can lead to significant delays.
The aim of the Buy American provisions, for example, is to keep the nearly $1 trillion in stimulus money in the U.S. With a few exceptions, the rules require that the raw materials and other goods used for stimulus-funded projects be made in the U.S.
But in practice, the rules can delay projects as contractors spend time to find alternate suppliers and even change their design plans, according to a government report.
USDA spokesman Caleb Weaver said the department has required that any vehicles purchased with stimulus funds be manufactured in the U.S.
"However, in the event the rule is prohibitive, there exists an exception process," he said.
In Chicago, the city's housing authority found that the only security cameras compatible with their existing system were made outside the U.S., forcing officials to delay the project as they sought a federal waiver to the Buy American rules, according to a review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
At the Department of Homeland Security, an airport screening project costing hundreds of millions of dollars was slowed as officials awaited a waiver from the Buy American provisions to allow contractors to use foreign-made components, the GAO found.
But Stanley learned last summer that the federal government wouldn't release the town's stimulus money. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was worried that the town's plans to buy Dodge, Ford or Chevrolet police cars assembled in Canada could violate the "Buy American" provisions of the American Recovery and Investment Act, records show.
"The situation has put our town of Stanley in an extreme hardship trying to provide public safety to our community," Police Chief Tim Foster later wrote in letters to Congress.
The situation in Stanley, though later resolved in the town's favor according to Chief Foster, illustrates a broader problem facing federal agencies and local and state governments. Tasked with spending hundreds of billions of dollars on "shovel ready" projects, officials are finding that a host of rules governing where, when and how money is spent can lead to significant delays.
The aim of the Buy American provisions, for example, is to keep the nearly $1 trillion in stimulus money in the U.S. With a few exceptions, the rules require that the raw materials and other goods used for stimulus-funded projects be made in the U.S.
But in practice, the rules can delay projects as contractors spend time to find alternate suppliers and even change their design plans, according to a government report.
USDA spokesman Caleb Weaver said the department has required that any vehicles purchased with stimulus funds be manufactured in the U.S.
"However, in the event the rule is prohibitive, there exists an exception process," he said.
In Chicago, the city's housing authority found that the only security cameras compatible with their existing system were made outside the U.S., forcing officials to delay the project as they sought a federal waiver to the Buy American rules, according to a review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
At the Department of Homeland Security, an airport screening project costing hundreds of millions of dollars was slowed as officials awaited a waiver from the Buy American provisions to allow contractors to use foreign-made components, the GAO found.
More from The Washington Times HERE.
We don't seem to have any problem at all getting a $500,000 fireboat made completely in Canada.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the people who created this program and okayed the items had any clue how precious little is completely produced here in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteLike the security cameras - there isn't a camera made in the U.S., security or otherwise, that doesn't at least use Asian-produced parts.
What, are they expecting this program to stimulate a whole new factories that will come up with American-made products they can give away?
Welcome to the world of government. You should try applying for a federal grant. If you are the type of person that wants to get things done, the government is not the place for you. Sometimes even the most simple tasks become the most difficult because of the layers of redtape that exist. Especially at the State and Federal level. I truly blame the liberals, and ACLU type groups for alot of this.
ReplyDelete