Vice President Biden Issues Letters to the Nation’s Mayors on Accountability for Recover Act Projects

The White House released a letter http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Biden_USCM_letter.pdf on Friday, March 20th that Vice President Biden sent to the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayor Manny Diaz of Miami, FL. The letter, thanked the U.S. Conference of Mayors for their the leadership commitment to ensuring that projects put forward under the Recovery Act maximize job creation and detailed the accountability standards that will be applied.

In the letter, Vice President Biden said “As we begin the implementation of the Recovery Act, the focus of the federal agencies has turned to determining which types of projects will be funded by the different categories of the Act. As you know, there are many types of projects that are specifically excluded from receiving funding, such as casinos or other gambling establishments, aquariums, zoos, golf courses, and swimming pools. Moreover, the increasingly tough times we face – and specific provisions of the Recovery Act – suggest that some types of projects, though not explicitly prohibited, are inconsistent with the purpose of the Act, and should not be funded.”

The Vice President went on to say “… that when marginal projects are identified, the Administration will use its powers to have those projects removed from lists and denied ARRA funding where appropriate. At this critical moment, we simply cannot afford to fund projects that do not meet absolutely critical needs. Thus, as applications from potential grantees under the Recovery Act come in, we will scrutinize them carefully …