Brownback diverts funds from homeowners to big biz

[proud2BlibKansan]

TOPEKA — Federal stimulus dollars that were supposed to go toward making thousands of Kansans’ homes more energy efficient will now fund two renewable energy projects because the state could not spend the money fast enough, state officials said Tuesday.

“I’m sure there are some people who will not receive money. I take all the blame right here. We did the best we could at the time,” Kansas Secretary of Commerce Pat George told the House-Senate Committee on Energy and Environmental Policy.

The state received $38.3 million in 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to set up a program that offered low-interest loans to Kansans to make their homes more energy efficient.

But the program started slowly. At first the interest rates weren’t competitive, and the requirements to qualify were relatively high.

During the 2011 session, the Kansas Legislature directed the KCC to work with the Kansas Board of Regents, and that resulted in nearly $7 million being used for energy projects on college campuses.

But with the clock ticking toward the April 1, 2012, deadline, and the bulk of the grant still unspent, Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration pulled funding from the program and received federal approval to spend $20 million on two renewable biofuels projects. In addition, $1.5 million has been set aside to take care of the home efficiency loans that had been in the process of approval when the state redirected the funding.

more . . . http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/oct/18/businesses-now-get-money-earmarked-feds-make-kansa/

[benld74]

1. Wassa matter with Kansas?

[DCKit]

2. Follow the money.

Bet a LOT of that money is going directly into some campaign contributors pockets.