Fimian Bashes Connolly over His Vote on The 'Stimulus Bill'

Keith Fimian, Republican candidate for Congress (VA-11) released the following statement today regarding Gerry Connolly’s support for millions in reckless spending contained in the failed $862 billion stimulus.

"We know the stimulus has failed to create lasting jobs on any large scale, and the jobs it did create came with price tags of several hundred thousand dollars each in some cases," Fimian said. "And according to a recent report from Senators Coburn and McCain, we find out it is loaded with outrageous wasteful projects that do absolutely nothing to stimulate economic growth."

Among the projects cited in the report:

--$62 million was spent on building an unnecessary tunnel under the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, a project Pennsylvania’s Democrat Governor Ed Rendell called “a tragic mistake”

--$308 million to a subsidiary of British Petroleum (BP) for a construction project that won’t begin until late 2011

--$39 million for Kansas politicians to renovate their offices and State House

--$54 million to an Indian tribe for a WNBA practice facility in Connecticut

--$762,000 went to the University of North Carolina to develop a device to allowing "choreographers to explore interactive dance without always having a full cast of dancers present."

--$144,000 to study the effect of cocaine on monkeys

"The best thing government can do to stimulate our economy and create jobs is create conditions where Americans and small businesses can invent, create, produce, and prosper," Fimian said. "Reckless government spending on outrageous projects has failed to jumpstart economic growth and it has only succeeded in sending our deficit and national debt spiraling out-of-control."