Sen. Brad Lager, our voice in the Missouri Senate, has been appointed to a stimulus funds oversight committee charged with maximizing the amount of federal tax dollars Missouri is eligible to receive and making certain those funds are appropriately distributed.
Referring to the House and Senate Interim Committees on Oversight of Federal Stimulus and Stabilization Funds, Sen. Lager explains, “We are two groups working in parallel to make certain the award of these stimulus funds follow certain criteria.”
However, the two stimulus oversight committees won’t begin formulating those criteria and rules for at least a month.
“First, we have to get our heads around these things,” adds Sen. Lager, referring to how the various state departments normally go about allocating funds they receive.
A fiscal conservative, Sen. Lager is critical about the heady pace at which the federal government is wanting to distribute such huge sums of money.
“This is federal government at its worst!” he declares. “There’s so much money flying around! They’re trying to distribute $2 trillion to all the states in four to six months, and typically, it should take twice that long.”
Sen. Lager adds that while the two Missouri stimulus oversight committees will have control over some of the criteria state and municipal government agencies will have to meet, some of those rules are being imposed by the federal government.
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Linn County, Mo. —
