Mike Turner has asked Governor Ted Strickland to urge Vice President Biden to investigate whether federal stimulus dollars are being used as part of an incentive package to relocate jobs from other states, including Ohio.
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Mike Turner has asked Governor Ted Strickland to urge Vice President Biden to investigate whether federal stimulus dollars are being used as part of an incentive package to relocate jobs from other states, including Ohio.  Additionally, Turner called on Biden to use his oversight role to ensure that stimulus funds are not used as part of the package that may have resulted in shifting jobs from Ohio, and from other states, to Georgia.  Vice President Biden will visit Cincinnati Thursday to check on the status of stimulus money in that city.

In particular, Rep. Turner cited the case of long-time Dayton employer, NCR Corporation.  On June 2, 2009, NCR, headquartered in Dayton, announced that it would take steps to centralize its operations in Georgia, including the relocation of its Dayton headquarters.  In NCR’s press release, the company cited stimulus funds in the centralization of operations in Georgia.

“It is troubling that stimulus funding could be used as part of a package to bring jobs from other states, including Ohio, to Georgia.  Upon the release of reports stating that stimulus funds could be part of the package benefitting NCR job relocations, Republican Leader John Boehner and I wrote President Obama asking if this was an appropriate use of such taxpayer funds and asking him to take steps to prevent this from happening.  The residents of Ohio will be forced to pay for, in effect, the removal of jobs from their state to another.

“It is my understanding that you could be meeting with the Vice President during his visit tomorrow,” Turner wrote Strickland.  “The Vice President is leading the Administration’s effort to ensure that the $787 billion stimulus is spent appropriately.  It is, therefore, critical that he be made aware of the reported use of stimulus funds as part of the incentive package by Georgia officials to lure NCR to their state.   Please bring this matter to the attention of the Vice President and ask that he use his oversight role to ensure that such funds not be used as part of the package that shifted jobs from Ohio.”

Obama’s OMB Deputy Director Questions Appropriateness of Funding:

During a Wednesday House Government Reform Committee hearing on federal oversight of the stimulus funding, Rep. Turner asked Deputy Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Mr. Rob Nabors, whether the use of stimulus money to relocate jobs from one state to another is an appropriate and allowable expense under the stimulus guidelines.  In response, Deputy Director Nabors said: “I don’t have the specifics on this example but it is disturbing.”   He also noted “based on what you’ve just said that does not sound like an appropriate use of recovery dollars.”  Furthermore, Deputy Director Nabors promised to review the case and follow up with Turner’s office.

“This matter is one that the people of my district and the State of Ohio find particularly distressing given the significant local job loss and the fact that our tax dollars will be used,” Turner said.