With an estimated $4.3 billion of the federal economic-stimulus bill allotted to Wisconsin, state lawmakers are insisting on legislative oversight of expenditures made by Gov. Jim Doyle's administration.
In a WisPolitics statement, state Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, described oversight as an essential responsibility of all lawmakers.
A dollar misspent is a lost opportunity,"" Carpenter said. ""As legislators, it is our responsibility to ensure that the funds are spent wisely, on programs and projects that will put Wisconsinites to work and provide us with the services needed in these troubled times.""
Carrie Lynch, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Schofield, said Democrats are in favor of targeting money toward infrastructure projects because they provide in-state jobs to Wisconsin residents.
To assist in decisions about the allocation of federal stimulus money, Doyle developed the Office of Recovery and Reinvestment.
According to Carla Vigue, spokesperson for Doyle, he and the office are considering a long list of projects that have been determined to be ""trouble-ready.""
""The governor is going to be looking at the list, determining how to move forward and how to spend the money in a way that will put people to work very quickly,"" Vigue said.
Despite Doyle's expressed dedication to the employment of state residents, Republican lawmakers are skeptical that the federal money will be used appropriately.
""We believe Gov. Doyle is going to be using a good deal of this money to balance his budget and not to create jobs,"" Jim Bender, spokesperson for state Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, said.
Portions of the stimulus bill will likely affect the state budget in areas of medical assistance and educational funding. According to Bender, however, some Republicans believe the discretionary money will be used to solve the state budget deficit rather than solving issues of unemployment.
""Money is supposed to go to create jobs. There are areas of the budget where we need to reduce spending and not rely on plugging in one-time federal money,"" he said.
