Stimulus Infrastructure Spending On Track [We Think]

In testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said nearly $9 billion in stimulus spending by the Transportation Department has been obligated among the 50 states and the territories, putting the Department ahead of schedule for distributing the whole $48 billion within 18 months of the bill's passage. EPA reported at the same hearing that $1.5 billion of its $7.2 billion to be spent on construction by that agency has already been distributed to the states, mostly for clean water and drinking water infrastructure. Meanwhile GAO reports that in many of the 16 states it has checked up on so far, state auditors say local governments and state transportation agencies may not be able to adequately track and report expenditure of these funds.