Biden on Stimulus Spending: Avoid the Pork
EmailABC News’ Jennifer Duck reports: Today Vice President Joe Biden spoke with the city and county officials from nearly every state overseeing local stimulus spending. His message? Avoid the pork. In other words, "No swimming pools. No tennis courts. No golf courses. No Frisbee parks." "It’s got to pass the smell test, folks," Biden said. "The president and I can’t stop you from doing some things, but I’ll show up in your city and say this is a stupid idea." The Vice President also took a jab at the governors who are opposed to taking stimulus money. "Last week, we had the governors here — 49 out of 50 showed up, even the states who say that they don’t want the money," Biden said with a laugh. Biden announced on camera a $100 million commitment from the stimulus funds to provide meals for low-income and older Americans. "While there are more seniors in need, there’s an increasing threat that the programs they depend on are on the brink of reducing their services because they’re being shut down," he said. Biden told the roomful of officials he was flattered the president asked him to take on the role of helping local officials and was maybe a little too honest but genuine when saying, "My ability may not equal my passion." The Vice President even promised to return calls personally and directly. "You may have to get a phone call back from me from Afghanistan, but I’ll return it," he said. "I’m not joking. This is how important this is." "The American people are counting on us," Biden added. "They’re counting on us to get it right." –Jennifer Duck
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I’m far more interested in the results a couple years from now, but at least the initial rhetoric is in the right direction. And when actual spending number come out, it would be nice to have them put in context a bit rather than just hype the heck out of a $10 million boondoggle and ignore the $1 billion in bridge maintenance that will pay dividends for a generation.
Posted by: jhw539 | March 18, 2009, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm
I am absolutely sure that Joe can recognize stupid ideas.
Posted by: ed Gcom | March 18, 2009, 5:25 pm 5:25 pm
Our New President claims he is for change. All he wants for the middle class is for to take home pocket CHANGE from the paycheck and where does he send the money? Everywhere but where it is needed. How is it that he can sign a stimulus bill that approved the AIG bonus payments and then screem as if he knew nothing about the bonuses.
He can pull of this charade because the liberal main stream media doesn’t hold him accountable for anything and by the time they do it will be to late.
This President is going to be known as the President that ended prosperity for the Greatest Country in the World.
His name will go down in history for destroying all of the hard work our fore fathers put in to create this once great Country.
It will be noted that he did this with the complicit help of ABC / CBS / NBC / CNN and PBS!!!
Posted by: True Blue America | March 18, 2009, 5:42 pm 5:42 pm
hey Biden……….
how about getting rid of the 8 billion dollars of PORK in the current budget bill.
You speak with forked tongue..
jack from Indy
Posted by: jack | March 18, 2009, 5:51 pm 5:51 pm
Who is absolutely sure Biden can recognize stupid ideas???
STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES.
Jack from Indy
Posted by: jack | March 18, 2009, 5:53 pm 5:53 pm
I can’t wait until a loaf of bread costs $30.
Posted by: Hoover | March 18, 2009, 6:10 pm 6:10 pm
This reads like the script from a bad 1950s “B” movie.
Posted by: Sally J | March 18, 2009, 6:19 pm 6:19 pm
@Obamacrat for Palin: Totally agree. That’s a republican view though. And the GOP made horrible picks for the race, thus they lost, big time.
But, to be honest, I don’t like either party. Sure they differ on some wordy political agendas, but when it comes to money, both parties are the same. They want to give tax dollars to some already rich party (big business or government, funny how Obama is straying from the Democratic side…) in hopes that it will trickle down the system and fix things for everyone. And then they act surprised when that money ends up paying for a $250,000 door on some CEO’s yacht.
Posted by: Bryan Dubya | March 18, 2009, 6:31 pm 6:31 pm
wow, we got the smart people making comments on abcnews.com
a bunch of idiotic slander and bile backed up by nothing more than assumption.
Posted by: lolz | March 18, 2009, 6:39 pm 6:39 pm
You’re killing me, Joe! Hilarious stuff there, you should take that one to Comedy Central. You clowns are going to create a paper shortage after running the printing presses 24/7, making all this soon to be worthless paper. Hyper-inflation anyone?
Posted by: pwhited | March 18, 2009, 6:43 pm 6:43 pm
“Obama is our national nightmare. It isn’t just my kids and grandkids whose future he is spending today. It is your children, and their children.”
Because the gigantic national debt accumulated during the Bush era did not matter?
Posted by: Ryan C | March 18, 2009, 6:44 pm 6:44 pm
The mayor of Atlanta wants to put a new facade on the airport here. Im thinking that the new entrance will allow alot more tourist to come to atlanta to see our cool looking airport.
Can they really be so STUPID to think that Goverment knows how to do anything Well?
I no longer have an ounce of Faith in any of our goverment leaders!
EPIC FAIL!
Posted by: drew | March 18, 2009, 6:50 pm 6:50 pm
Joe Biden…intellectual titan for the
ages. You elected him……..ENJOY!
Posted by: Trajan | March 18, 2009, 7:05 pm 7:05 pm
50 states, 100s of cities, 1000s of agencies. “My ability may not equal my passion.” and yet the Vice President even promised to return calls personally and directly.
Huh? The VP should if he could backstop the C in C in giving him advice what decisions pass the smell test. Like a Chas Freeman pick or checking to see if Congress snuck in foreign policy and trade changes with the stimulus and budget!!!
But the VP and his office doesn’t seem designed to be assistant Santa Claus checking to see if youre naughty or nice to deserve your goodies.
Posted by: robert b | March 18, 2009, 7:06 pm 7:06 pm
“”No swimming pools. No tennis courts. No golf courses..”
Now if a city was spending only city funds, then it is accountable to its citizens. And any of the above might be justifiable – pools and sport activities. Wasn’t “night basketball” supposed to have quelled urban rioting??
Being a parks and rec summer intern forming intermural teams might be the ticket to forming the next uber-community organizer!!
Seriously some cities have redeveloped around golf courses and sports facilities, and jobs and revenues and taxes come flowing in.
However theres a big difference. If all a city loses is 50,000 seed money and the feds the rest, if it doesn’t pan out, so what – ah well, hope it stimulated a bit. It’s not enough skin in the game to be serious. So it’s you Joe and all of us that are left in a lurch.
Posted by: robert b | March 18, 2009, 7:42 pm 7:42 pm
“Just make sure there’s money to upgrade that crummy Amtrak train going from Washington to Delaware. Some flat screens and a mini bar would be nice.”
Posted by: Sigmond | March 18, 2009, 8:02 pm 8:02 pm
ryan c…Absolutely it matters, Bush deficit, but isn’t that the reason WHY Obama was voted in…too control massive spending. Obama has DOUBLED our deficit in only 50 days of office..he literally is Bush on steroids..
Posted by: Parallax View | March 18, 2009, 8:17 pm 8:17 pm
The Obama Administration telling the states to “avoid the pork” and that “it must pass the smell test”? What hypocracy! Their stimulus package, with all of it’s pet projects and payoffs to political cronies is chock-full of stinking, rancid pork!
Posted by: Nejxn | March 18, 2009, 8:49 pm 8:49 pm
Big laugh. Biden is a joke.
Posted by: NPage | March 18, 2009, 10:17 pm 10:17 pm
I can envision Biden saying something like this:
“Look at Saudi Arabia…they don’t have pork…why can’t America do the same!”
Seriously, this guy’s one line away from the presidency and that’s almost as scary as the current proletariat’s choice.
Posted by: RR GOP | March 18, 2009, 10:34 pm 10:34 pm
Well Joe…..i don’t know which Gov did’nt come…..but Our Texas Gov…is only taking part of it….
This Bill introduced new laws that will soon have to be funded by the individual states after the stimulus money runs out….forever…
Portions of this bill will end up costing each state in the future…
There are yet untold unintential damage this bill may cause in the future…
We’ll just have to wait and see….
Did’nt your momma tell you nothing is free…..there is always a cost…somewhere..
Posted by: J Moore | March 19, 2009, 4:13 am 4:13 am
He is the worse Vice President in this history.
Posted by: anonymous | March 19, 2009, 5:02 am 5:02 am
Biden: “Officials must ‘get it right’ on stimulus;” V.P. says, “I’ll show up in your city, and tell you it was a stupid idea.” I love Biden…he’s the best thing this administration has, and he can be downright attack dog. I trust him and respect him. I’ve seen him in numerous situations where, when it comes to getting ethics right, he won’t back down…he has no fear and can be almost scary when he is serving Americans’ interests. I’m glad he’s on our side and only wish he would have been put in this role with the TARP monies in the last administration…we wouldn’t be asking where the fig the monies are and what the heck they were used for. I’m glad the president is using Biden’s expertise in foreign policy also. Biden’s speech in Munich still takes my breath away, and his talk to firefighters shows his respect for middle/working class America. Go Joe!
Posted by: Principia | March 19, 2009, 5:15 pm 5:15 pm