Mostly on the stimulus

Heightened Scrutiny: Childers is Jesus: Turning Water into Whine

Bennie Thompson defends lack of Katrina funds in stimulus package:

"I think people looked at how generous Congress has been in the past," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee. "(The states) have to demonstrate that they can be good custodians of the money." Thompson and others say new funding wasn't necessary in the stimulus largely because billions of federal dollars remain bogged down in bureaucracy or tied up in planning. As a result, they said, Katrina funding doesn't fit with the quick-spending purpose of the stimulus bill, which is aimed at kick-starting the economy. Ironically, Bush made similar arguments in recent years as Gulf advocates latched on to nearly any legislation they could find to pursue reconstruction money. For example, he routinely argued that Katrina funding didn't belong in war spending bills and that new funding wasn't urgent because unspent billions were already in the pipeline.

Travis Childers defends stimulus to community college students:

"This bill promises to bring jobs to Mississippi," said Childers. "It's not a perfect bill, but it will save and create jobs for Mississippians."

Travis Childers says stimulus will help Calhoun County Schools:

Calhoun County Schools are scheduled to benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – more commonly referred to as the federal economic stimulus package – with the appropriation of $956,000. Con. Travis Childers released the figures late last week of the approximate $250 million slated for Mississippi schools over the next two years from the stimulus package. Calhoun’s portion of the funds was among the highest in the surrounding area. Chickasaw County (Houlka) is scheduled for $279,000. Oxford is to receive $901,000; Lafayette $616,000; Pontotoc City $708,000; Pontotoc County $858,000; Houston $781,000; Coffeeville $499,000; and Water Valley $573,000.

Description of Gene Taylor's vote on stimulus:

"Taylor is a temperamental maverick from the Gulf Coast of Mississippi who votes as he damn well pleases on everything."

Letter-to-the-Editor: Harper right to oppose spending:

Despite what Jackson resident David Caballero contends in a recent letter ("Harper forgot who elected him," Feb. 11), 3rd District U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper has not forgotten who elected him. Fiscal and social conservatives elected him to represent us in a responsible way. And fortunately for all Mississippians and the nation, he is living up to their expectations. Arguably, somewhere in this bill there are items that are worthy to be addressed in a responsible way. Unfortunately they are overwhelmingly outnumbered by the unbelievable pork projects that we can ill afford, even in a robust economy. Responsible spending would reflect change we can believe in and Congressman Harper understands that. Would that they all did. - Carl G. Boutwell Jr., Brandon

Harper meets with leaders, speaks against stimulus:

Hoisting two giant binders, U.S. Representative Gregg Harper gave city and county leaders a look at the newly signed federal stimulus package. Harper, who voted against the stimulus bill, called the bill’s passing an “amazing situation.” Harper said one of his biggest issues with the bill is that it did not allocate enough funding for things like road improvements and included too many earmarks for unnecessary projects. But several listening to Harper’s address have already made wish lists for stimulus money. The Natchez Board of Aldermen has asked for approximately $54 million, and the Adams County Board of Supervisors has requested $66 million in funding from the bill.

Thompson renews effort to name courthouse:

Rep. Bennie Thompson has reopened a debate over the name of a new federal courthouse in Jackson. Thompson, a Democrat who represents the 2nd District, recently introduced a bill that would name the courthouse under construction in downtown Jackson after the late R. Jess Brown, a civil rights lawyer in Jackson. Thompson introduced a similar bill in early 2007. But some want the courthouse to be named after Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., who used his senior position on the Senate Appropriations Committee to secure millions of dollars to build it.