Boehner's Blog 

With Ohio's unemployment rate soaring past 10 percent, and local companies closing up shop or leaving Ohio and taking jobs with them, is Ohio's governor working on a plan to make Ohio a better place to do business?Nope. Instead, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Governor Strickland is in Washington asking for more federal "stimulus" money – i.e., more of our tax dollars. Unfortunately, the Governor and his Administration have a poor track record with the so-called "stimulus" they've already received. Consider:

• Associated Press reports that the Strickland Administration "passed over some ready-to-go construction projects" and put $57 million into a slush-fund to study projects that may never get built.
• The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Ohio EPA attempted to use $1.1 million "to treat groundwater at a Cold War-era weapons site that was declared cleaned up two years ago."
• CNN reports that $1.2 million was used to pay the salaries of Columbus City police recruits who may still end up losing their jobs at the end of the year when "stimulus" dollars dry up.

The Governor has also so far failed to establish an independent, bipartisan oversight board providing information to Ohioans on how the state distributes federal "stimulus" dollars. Congressman Boehner asks why taxpayers should trust him with even more:"The so-called stimulus package has been a disaster in the Buckeye State, yet the Strickland administration is looking for more federal dollars to spend. While hundreds of thousands of Ohioans remain out of work and companies leaving the state, the administration continues to refuse to set up an independent, bipartisan oversight board to ensure Ohioans that their precious dollars are being spent appropriately. If Gov. Strickland's administration refuses to submit to this scrutiny, why should taxpayers agree to entrust them with millions of dollars more?"