Labor Union: Stimulus Signs Create Jobs
When a road project underway is funded by President Obama's $787 stimulus package, the administration makes sure that drivers know -- with orange and green signs on the side of the road that declare, "Project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act." A logo of a man with a shovel is accompanied by the message, "Putting America to Work."
Republicans have decried the signage, calling it a waste of money, but Democrats and labor unions are dismissing the GOP outrage.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has asked for an investigation into the Obama administration's guidance regarding the signs. Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) has put forward a proposal to prohibit funding for any additional stimulus signs and recapture the money spent on signs by reducing agencies' administrative expenses.
"We don't need to spend taxpayer money on propaganda," Schock said in a statement.
The Department of Transportation says states have spent an estimated $5 million on signage, or about .02 percent of the $28 billion spent on road projects, ABC News reports.
The money amounts to a small percentage of stimulus funds, the administration and its supporters say, and creates jobs in its own right.
"Where do they think the signs come from?" said Eddie Vale, spokesman for the labor union federation AFL-CIO. "There isn't a magical road sign unicorn that brings them... they're manufactured -- i.e., building and placing the signs ALSO create jobs."
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs yesterday said, "I'm glad that Republicans have noticed the nearly 11,000 road projects that are underway this summer. We have encouraged states to let people know how their tax money is being spent."
