Stimulus creates 202 jobs in Oklahoma
Most positions brought about by federal funding are in construction, engineering services
BY PAUL MONIES
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Published: October 17, 2009
Direct federal contracts from the stimulus package have created 202 jobs in Oklahoma, mostly in construction and engineering services, according to the first round of reports from the government’s stimulus accountability board.
Nationwide, about 30,300 jobs have been created from stimulus-related federal contracts since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in February. About $16 billion in stimulus contracts have been awarded, a small slice of the overall $787 billion stimulus package that also includes tax cuts and direct federal aid to states. So far, Oklahoma companies, cities or agencies have received 120 federal contracts worth $92.3 million, according to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, which runs the Recovery.gov Web site. More than half of the 202 new jobs went to Oklahoma City or Tinker Air Force Base. Only jobs created by direct federal contracts are being tracked, while jobs created by other stimulus funds are not. A long-planned project to rehabilitate the runway at Bartlesville’s airport created 38 jobs, the most at one site among Oklahoma contracts. Terry Lauritsen, the city’s director of engineering, said the $3.5 million project should be finished in the next few weeks. The project went through the Federal Aviation Administration. Lauritsen said Bartlesville has two other stimulus-related projects pending. One will renovate city hall to make it more energy efficient. The other is a combination of grants and loans to make water system improvements. Stimulus experts said tracking job creation from the recovery package won’t be an exact science. Federal contract recipients report information, including employment estimates, but those reporting requirements don’t filter down to the subcontractor level. Critics of the stimulus package say its job creation has been anemic, especially as the national jobless rate hovers near 10 percent. The White House estimated about 1 million jobs have been saved or created this year from stimulus spending. "Those very high estimates from the White House assume multiplier effects,” said Paul Shinn of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, which advocates for anti-poverty measures and economic opportunity. "Still, when you look at it, 202 jobs is not bad. It’s safe to assume it will grow, because many federal agencies really haven’t hit the road yet” in awarding contracts. Almost half of the Oklahoma stimulus contracts approved so far came through the Pentagon for base or post construction and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, according to a review of the data. The Indian Health Service and the Department of Housing and Urban Development also awarded multiple contracts. The largest single award was a $20 million contract from the Environmental Protection Agency in the former mining area around Tar Creek. Colorado-based engineering firm CH2M Hill Inc. won the contract, which will accelerate cleanup and relocation efforts at the Superfund site. The federal contracting awards are separate from stimulus funds sent directly to state agencies for health, education, social services, transportation and budget stabilization uses. So far, Oklahoma government agencies have received $674 million out of an estimated $2.6 billion that will come to the state. Though there have been problems with the first release of detailed federal contract data, Shinn said the focus on transparency and accountability is a worthy goal. "Aside from the economic effects, I hope that will be a lasting legacy of the stimulus,” he said. Later this month, the federal recovery and accountability board will release information on stimulus-related grants and loans.
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Public Finance, Domestic Policy, Federal Budget, Political Policy, Politics, Business, Economic Indicators, Economic Policy, Government Spending, Labor Market, Job Growth, Economic Stimulus
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I can't speak for all the stimulus package, but I work for the Conservation Districts of Oklahoma and I can tell you the funds the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) received for watershed dam work has been a God send. Not only are jobs being saved and created but also in the fact that these dams that are being fixed protect homes, businesses, roads, farmland, schools, etc. If we don't fix them eventually one will break and someone will die. Oklahoma has 1,000 plus dams that will be past their design life in the next ten years. At a repair cost of $1 million plus per dam, the state of Oklahoma could never come up with this kind of money without federal help. If we can fix them and help hire folks in a time of an economic downturn, that seems like a good thing to me. Again, I can't speak to all the stimulus, but the money going to dam repair, water quality protection and other conservation work is in my opinion money well spent, especially when we are talking about peoples lives below dams.
It was 14,164 on Oct.9,2007-the all time high.
Who was Pres. then?
does say many federal agencies haven't really hit the road yet.
So, all and all, it's another typical Republican spin. OREPUBCO would never write about the Bush tax cuts and the jobs they created at a cost of 800,000 dollars per job. No, we can't see that.
What a lying and twisting hack of a newspaper. This is why so many okies don't know shit from wild honey.
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Lets hear it from you Obama supporters. Put your spin on this.