FOX 7 Investigates: Texas tax dollars
Posted: Feb 17, 2014 7:20 PM CSTUpdated: Feb 17, 2014 9:37 PM CST
Are
they federal secrets or just human errors? That's what FOX 7 wanted to
know when we tried to follow your money in Texas. Specifically, how your
tax dollars
are being spent in the $816 billion stimulus fund.
There's a website that's supposed to track that, region by region. FOX 7's Christine Haas has spent the past three months checking it and found hundreds of millions of dollars spent and jobs created by organizations who claim they never received a dime.
Recovery.gov is a $22 million government website that is supposed to show you how your tax dollars are being spent --all $816 billion of them.
are being spent in the $816 billion stimulus fund.There's a website that's supposed to track that, region by region. FOX 7's Christine Haas has spent the past three months checking it and found hundreds of millions of dollars spent and jobs created by organizations who claim they never received a dime.
Recovery.gov is a $22 million government website that is supposed to show you how your tax dollars are being spent --all $816 billion of them.
Fancy graphics and interactive maps help you track by state, county even zip code. But, when FOX 7 started digging, some things just didn't add up. The site, for example, shows the city of Austin gave more than 2 million dollars to an Aflac insurance agent Shirl Frasier in Taylor, Texas.
Only problem? It appears Shirl Frasier doesn't exist.
The phone number listed by the government for Frasier doesn't work. And the address comes back to this retail space that houses a law firm and a psychologist's office.
Even, AFLAC insurance and the Texas Insurance commission confirm there's no AFLAC agent named Shirl Frasier in Texas.
So where did this money go? The City of Austin says it did not go to Shirl Frasier, after all. A city spokesperson declined an on camera interview. However, she did provide documents that she says proves the money actually went to the Austin Tenant's council and the non-profit organization "Life Works".
In fact, the city says it has no idea who Shirl Frasier is and that the error was reported several times to the federal government, as well.
But, this error is just one example why even the government admits you can't believe everything you read.
Nancy DiPaolo a spokesperson for Recovery.gov website says errors like the one we found with the city of Austin can happen--if the agency that receives the funds doesn't follow proper protocol.
She declined an on camera interview and issued a statement, which says in part, "Unfortunately, a small number of recipients failed to report as required. Help was available at many levels, from the Board, as well as from federal agencies, and while mistakes do happen, there really was no excuse not to report."
"We will fix this website," said President Obama.
This kind of finger pointing over errors is nothing new. Back in 2010, the website was so overrun with erroneous information the President promised a major website overhaul and fewer mistakes..
"These kinds of things are not acceptable," said President Obama.
The government said this "wall of shame" would be one of the solutions. It's an interactive list of non-compliers. In other words, recipients who fail to report how they are spending their money. But, our investigation reveals this list of non-compliers in Texas --doesn't seem to add up either.
Check out the city of Roma, Texas -- a town of 9700 people. Recovery.gov says it has failed to report how it's spending four USDA grants that total $50 million.
When we asked Roma officials what happened to the money, a spokesperson said the feds never approved those grants, claiming the city never got a dime. The USDA did not respond to our questions.
Now look at this noncompliance by Conoco Philips. Recovery.gov states the company hasn't reported how it's spent its $668,564 grant money for three straight quarters.
But, Conoco Philips provided us this documentation proving the grant was closed in early 2013, after all requirements were satisfied.
Michael Grabell says these mistakes are concerning. He literally wrote the book on the federal stimulus program. As a journalist with ProPublica, a nonprofit, independent public policy watchdog group, he's spent years studying the impact of the stimulus. He says far too often businesses
failed to be transparent."You have people who just won't report and the government has no teeth in the requirements. When these organizations don't report, there's nothing that can really be done about it. They get millions of dollars and we have no idea how the money was spent," said Grabell.
Grabell says that doesn't mean the stimulus is a failure, but it does expose the weaknesses in government transparency.
"You should know where the money is being spent," said President Obama.
Something that President Obama promised because, after all, the federal stimulus wouldn't be possible without your money.
"You are calling for action, now is the time for all of us in Washington to live up to our responsibilities," said President Obama.
Senator John Cornyn released the following statement:
"Not only did the President's stimulus fail to produce shovel-ready jobs, five years later, millions of taxpayer dollars are unaccounted for and when asked about oversight, the Administration's only response is 'who, me?'"
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