Mistake has millions in federal funds going to nonexistent congressional districts

Page Last Updated: Thursday November 19, 2009 8:55am PST

Jerry Brown-News 3

Phantom congressional districts getting millions in stimulus money including four right here in Nevada: That raises the eyebrows and blood pressure of conservatives who say this slip up is another example of government incompetence.

As mistakes go, it's a doozy.

The federal government's stimulus recovery Web site lists 440 nonexistent congressional districts in 50 states, four territories and the District of Columbia. So far, over $6.4 billion in federal funding has allegedly gone to them.

For the record, the Silver State has three actual congressional districts. The Web site lists four others which don't exist that supposedly got more than $7.5 million.

"That should be Politics 101; getting the number of congressional districts in each state accurate," said Ron Futrell, Communications Director for the Clark County Republican Party.

Futrell cast the local error in a national framework.

"I don't know how the Obama administration can promise transparency then give Nevada four additional congressional districts. It might be cast off as just a minor mistake, but how can you get the little things wrong so badly and expect the public to believe you can get the big things, the important things, right?"

Stimulus supporters, like Erin Neff, the executive director of ProgressNow Nevada, dismisses this dustup as beside the point.

"It's clearly a typo. I mean, we don't have 23 congressional districts in Nevada. Everyone who knows that knows this is a clerical error."

Neff views this as a minor sideshow. She says the real problem isn't sloppy record keeping.

"The problem we have here in Nevada with the stimulus money is that there is no real way for the state government to get it into the proper hands; there's a logjam with the Gibbons administration."

While not alleging fraud, Futrell does demand accountability.

"Where did the money go for that '32nd Congressional District' here in the US, in Nevada? I don't know where that money went. We've got to trust them that they are telling the truth when they can't even get congressional districts in Nevada right."

"The money is going through the right channels," Neff insists. "It's just that the people getting the money are filling out the data online, and getting confused as to what congressional district this is in."

It may well be a tempest in a teapot, but expect this debate to simmer on.

-KVBC.com provided this report.

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