With a deadline less than two months away, the state Department of Transportation has about $70 million in leftover stimulus money due to savings from a down construction market. The state has until March 2 to get additional projects "obligated" for the remaining money, or risk losing it to another state. WSDOT already is pushing through a list of additional highway and bridge work, which is expected to be approved well before the deadline, WSDOT spokesman Lloyd Brown said Monday. (more)

Remember how $200 billion in federal stimulus cash was supposed to save the states from fiscal calamity? Well, hold on to your paychecks, because a big story of 2010 will be how all that free money has set the states up for an even bigger mess this year and into the future. (more)

Last week Christina Romer, chairwoman of the White House Counsel of Economic Advisers, suggested that we think of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as an extremely expensive course of antibiotics. "Suppose you go to your doctor for a strep throat," Romer said in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington, "and he or she prescribes an antibiotic." (more)

Conservative News Tweet As debate grows about a possible second stimulus package for the flagging American economy, at least one legendary investor is giving the idea his guarded approval. The "Oracle of Omaha" believes a second stimulus may be called for. (more)

Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking Democrat in the House believes a second "Stimulus" package may be necessary. He cautioned that it is "too early” to assess whether the $787 billion stimulus Congress enacted in February is working... (more)

Just hours after Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., put out his report, “A Second Opinion on the Stimulus,” detailing 100 “questionable” stimulus projects, the Obama administration fired back, issuing “A Second Look at The Second Opinion.” The administration argues that Coburn’s report is “riddled with falsehoods, outdated information, and misleading assertions.” (more)

Obama traveled to Columbus to speak at the graduation ceremony for 25 police recruits who owe their jobs to the economic recovery bill he signed into law just less than three weeks ago. Obama also said this of the stimulus, said it includes aid to state and local governments to prevent firefighters and police recruits, recruits like the ones in Columbus, Ohio who were told that instead of being sworn in as officers, they would be let go. Well, it's been 100 days since the signing of the stimulus package.... (more)

In his first quarterly report on the nation's stimulus package, Vice President Joe Biden uses anecdotes to paint a glowing picture of an economy on the rebound. In reality, the picture is incomplete and the colors far more muted. It is not disputed that Washington is spending historic amounts of money at a rate far faster than normal. Workers are getting tax breaks, Washington is picking up a greater share of state Medicaid costs and road construction projects are beginning. Even Recovery.gov, the ... (more)

In campaigning for his $787 billion economic stimulus plan, President Barack Obama often repeated the claim that the plan would "create or save" 3.5 million jobs over its two-year life. But even if Obama's artful hedge of counting a job "saved" as a job "created" is accepted, recent job losses have made the likelihood that the stimulus plan will deliver the president's promised number of jobs remote at best. In fact, the stimulus plan will have a hard time meeting the much more modest goal of 2.5 million... (more)

Reporting from Sacramento -- The Obama administration is threatening to rescind billions of dollars in federal stimulus money if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers do not restore wage cuts to unionized home healthcare workers approved in February as part of the budget. Schwarzenegger's office was advised this week by federal health officials that the wage reduction, which will save California $74 million, violates provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Failure to revoke ... (more)