When congressional Republicans tried (but failed) last month to kill funding for elaborate highway signs touting projects funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (aka the stimulus law), many GOP members called the expensive signs tax-funded propaganda. (Carolina Journal reported on the state delegation’s vote on the proposal here.)
Democrats said the signs ? many costing thousands of dollars each ? were nothing of the kind, just a transparent way of showing how federal tax dollars were being spent.
Not so fast. CNSNews.com found that a newly issued review by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inspector General reported that DOT “imposed strict guidelines for the placement, size, and visibility of signs” on contractors receiving stimulus finds.
Most of the guidelines call for ?economic recovery signs [to] be placed where they can be easily identified with the corresponding projects,? while the Federal Aviation Administration says ?the signs should be solely used to publicize ARRA funding of an airport project,? according to the IG report.
These guidelines were imposed soon after the bill passed last year, and some were relaxed within months, but if you wonder why the signs cost so much …
Download the IG report (PDF) here.
