red states rule
02-10-2010, 07:47 AM
Another example of why Obama's slush fund stimulus bill is failing to create jobs for unemployed Americans
ATLANTA -- Windmill farms are popping up all over the United States. President Barack Obama wants it to continue.
In his State of the Union address last month he said, "the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy".
The President set aside millions of stimulus dollars for green initiatives as part of last year's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Since then, the government has handed out $1.7 billion dollars into the wind power industry. But, the big news is where the money is going. America's new "green rush" has turned into a 21st century "gold rush" for other countries.
"Foreign companies are looking at the U.S. and are seeing a really great opportunity," said Russ Choma of America University. His investigation, along with a U.S. Senate report found more than a billion dollars going to foreign-owned energy companies. It's because they dominate the field of manufacturing the turbines and other equipment for windmill farms.
"The big problem we see with the legislation...is that there's nothing that says what you have to do with the money once you receive it. The hope is that you will re-invest it in the U.S., but there's nothing that obligates you to do so", Choma said.
The Spanish-based company Iberdrola has gotten $443 million in stimulus funds so far. The Portugal-based company E.D.P. has gotten $229 million. The British-based company Terra Firma is getting $42 million. It bought the Highland Wind Farm in western Pennsylvania from an American company just days before the stimulus awards were announced last year.
Jared Bernstein is the White House economist overseeing the stimulus money. Channel 2 Action News asked him about the green stimulus money.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/22508703/detail.html
ATLANTA -- Windmill farms are popping up all over the United States. President Barack Obama wants it to continue.
In his State of the Union address last month he said, "the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy".
The President set aside millions of stimulus dollars for green initiatives as part of last year's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Since then, the government has handed out $1.7 billion dollars into the wind power industry. But, the big news is where the money is going. America's new "green rush" has turned into a 21st century "gold rush" for other countries.
"Foreign companies are looking at the U.S. and are seeing a really great opportunity," said Russ Choma of America University. His investigation, along with a U.S. Senate report found more than a billion dollars going to foreign-owned energy companies. It's because they dominate the field of manufacturing the turbines and other equipment for windmill farms.
"The big problem we see with the legislation...is that there's nothing that says what you have to do with the money once you receive it. The hope is that you will re-invest it in the U.S., but there's nothing that obligates you to do so", Choma said.
The Spanish-based company Iberdrola has gotten $443 million in stimulus funds so far. The Portugal-based company E.D.P. has gotten $229 million. The British-based company Terra Firma is getting $42 million. It bought the Highland Wind Farm in western Pennsylvania from an American company just days before the stimulus awards were announced last year.
Jared Bernstein is the White House economist overseeing the stimulus money. Channel 2 Action News asked him about the green stimulus money.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/22508703/detail.html