Ainsley Earhardt

xfdfx FOX-HANNITY-01

<Show: FOX HANNITY>

<Date: May 29, 2009>

<Time: 21:00>

<Tran: 052901cb.253>

<Type: Show>

<Head: List of 101 Most Egregious Wastes of Stimulus Money - Part 2>

<Sect: News; Domestic>

<Byline: Sean Hannity, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Griff Jenkins, Alexis Glick, Ainsley Earhardt>

<Guest: Stephen Moore>

<Spec: Politics; Budget; Economy; Employment and Unemployment>

<Time: 20:59>

HANNITY: Come on, Alexis. All I want the words out of your mouth .ALEXIS GLICK, FOX BUSINESS: We're going to have a good time tonight.

HANNITY: I want to hear Hannity was right. I told you this is not about stimulating the economy, it's about growing the government

GLICK: OK, look, when he says 157,000 jobs have been created thus far as a result of the spending .

HANNITY: Not true.

GLICK: Frankly, I'd like to see the numbers. I'd be thrilled if that were the case. But we've lost 2.2 million jobs basically since he took office and we've got 2.6 million year to date. Here's the thing. When you look at the omnibus spending bill, when you look at the stimulus package what they've done is allocated funds but a lot of the money they actually haven't spent. So the other day saying $112 billion of the $787 being out there, it's too soon to see results.

HANNITY: It's true, it's all back ended, but we said this in the beginning, there's no jolt for the economy here.

EASTON: That's right. The jolt to the economy, again, it's too early to tell and the other thing is actually what they do is jobs saved or created.

HANNITY: He' s up to six million that he needs to break even now.

EASTON: And we're well on our way. White House official I was on the call yesterday says we're well o n the way to saving or creating 3.2 million jobs. But that's a very hard number to prove.

HANNITY: They've lost 2.5 million, Alexis. Because we're running out of time.

GLICK: Look, since this whole thing started, since this recession started in December of 2007 we've lost almost six million jobs in this country. They keep going back on 3 or 4 million. The bottom line is it's too early to tell. The problem is, who is ultimately going to decide where the funds are getting spent? Is it the federal government? Is it the states?

Part of the transparency issue that they're trying to rectify here in this administration is I'm not so sure how transparent it really is. And earmarks occur all the time. Republicans and Democrats do this time and time a gain. We've seen this in multiple administration. It's just how transparent will they really be and can they show us the stated facts about the job creation?

HANNITY: I got to tell you , it's a waste of our money and it's not the role of government. But, guys, good to see you. Thank you. Appreciate it.

EASTON: Great to see you, Sean.

HANNITY: Back to our list. Picking up at number 39. You're not going to believe it. Beaver management and control. Just what you always wanted to spend money on. Take a look.

Number 39 comes to us from the State of Mississippi where $475,000 will be spent on beaver management and control. Our own Griff Jenkins got to see this up close and to us it looks like a lot of fun with dynamite.

Number 38 is a $3.8 million stimulus project for Rochester, New York. Now get this, it's to extend art walk, the city's outdoor museum and their sidewalk art trail.

At number 47, the Aloha State of Hawaii, makes the list again with a $162,000 omnibus spending bill project to control the rodent population. Is it me or doesn't every state in the country seem to have a problem with rodents?

Nebraska checks in with number 36, $500,000 of your tax dollars will fund a 10 foot wide one mile wide concrete walking trail that will connect the Wilderness Park Trail and the Bob White Trail. Let's see, a half a million for a short cut?

Number 35 might sting a little where $1.7 million of your tax dollars will go to researching honeybees at a lab in Weslaco, Texas. We all know that bees are important, but you know what, they've been around for let's say, millions of years. Maybe they can wait before we aren't running these huge deficits before they get more of our money.

Number 34 really makes no sense at all. New Jersey getting $1.3 million in stimulus to stabilize a bridge that the town is planning to tear down anyway.

Kansas takes the number 33 spot with $580,000 earmark for karnal bunt research. Yes, I said karnal bunt. It's a fungal disease on wheat which studies have shown poses zero health risk to humans or animals.

For number 32 on the list we go to Cody, Wyoming where $190,000 of pork will go to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center to digitize and edit the William F. Cody Research Project.

Congresswoman Barbara Caben (ph) sponsored it and has been since been, by the way, voted out of office. That's how popular that project was.

Now for number 31. Residents of the great state of Maine, $380,000 earmarked for lighthouse preservation. Now there are over 60 lighthouses in Maine and only three, by the way get the money. I guess it's a good thing the other 57 lighthouses are in pretty good shape.

And finally, number 30 takes us to the State of Washington, the Evergreen State will receive $47 million in stimulus money to deepen 103 miles of the Columbia River, making it 43 feet deep instead of 40 feet deep. Now, that sounds like a shovel-ready job.

And coming up, number one is fast approaching, but next, underwater creatures. You know, lobster and snapper. They are all getting richer with your money. And another look at our spending map.

Now if you can't keep millions straight we're going to help you. Here is the grand total so far coast to coast. There it is, $673 million of your hard-earned dollars wasted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: And the list keeps going. We continue now with number 29. Well, let's take a look.

Number 29 is a project that Al Gore would love right in his home State of Tennessee. They want to spend $62 million in stimulus money on a solar farm. But it will only generate enough energy to power between 600 and 700 homes.

Now considering that the State of Tennessee has a population of over 6 million, maybe solar power is just too expensive to be an effective alternative energy source?

For number 28, we go to Kansas which secured a $119,000 earmark in the omnibus bill for a blackbird management, whatever that is.

Maine lobster is delicious but the $100,000 in the omnibus bill going to the Gulf of Maine lobster foundation, well it won't be putting any lobster on your plate. No, that money will ensure that lobstermen use rope instead of trap line.

Number 27 sure sounds like a pressing national priority to me.

Number 26 gives Las Vegas $2.1 million in order to get homeless people off the streets. But unless they're getting jobs, exactly how does that help the economy?

The $61,000 earmark in the omnibus bill devoted to researching potato diseases comes in at number 25.

Number 24 takes us to a desolate border crossing in Montana --millions, $15 million stimulus dollars went there, which seems a steep price to pay considering that less than two cars per day actually crossed the border there. Now maybe some of that money could be spent on our southern border where we have a real problem.

Number 23 is the $37 million headed to the Land of Enchantment for a highway project that will create just 200 jobs. I crunched the numbers. That's $185,000 per job. Now that sounds like more pay to pave in New Mexico if you ask me.

Number 22 goes to a creature all Americans surely care about. Termites. Yes, $6.5 million in the omnibus bill are going straight to Louisiana for Formosan termite research.

Nebraska was the recipient of 187,000 stimulus dollars to convert the former Chicago and Northwestern Railroad depot into a snazzier facility with restrooms and rail exhibits. Well, that's number 21.

And finally, number 20 goes to the $2,192,000 that the omnibus bill is sending to New York State for the study of genetics. No, not the type you're thinking of. It's for grape genetics.

Number 19 which is a repeat offender from Pennsylvania. Ray's Town Lake has received another $100,000 to conduct a survey to determine the density of the deer population on the campground. Now they couldn't find hunters to thin out the population? They'll do it free of charge.

Number 18 takes us to the Corporation for National and Community Service in our nation's capital. The little-known agency received a whopping $160 million which will largely be allocated to cover the salaries of volunteers.

Number 17 is bound to get the economy rolling again. A vehicle maintenance building in Lodi, California, is being fitted with solar panels to the tune of $1 million. I guess oil changes will just have to wait for those rainy days.

Number 16 brings us to Joe Biden's home state of Delaware. Rehoboth Beach received $7.5 million to refurbish its boardwalk. But so much for Obama's promise that all the projects are going to be, quote, shovel ready , construction will not begin until the fall. I'm sure beachgoers are going to enjoy the new boardwalk all winter long.

Number 15 takes us down to I-95 corridor to the Sunshine State of Florida where $1 billion is being spent to study the red snapper. Florida has no state income taxes so they're depending on you to foot the bill for that ridiculous project.

Number 14 will no doubt make Ted Kennedy proud. His home State of Massachusetts is handing out free cars to people on welfare. Now the program has been around for a while but thanks to the stimulus, an unspecified amount of new funding is on its way.

Number 13 brings us to the heartland of the country, officials in Omaha, Nebraska are dishing out $500,000 to restore pavements and curbs in order to make them more, quote, historically accurate. Now can anyone imagine what a historically accurate sidewalk would look like?

Number 12 shocked even the town that received the money. That's Union, New York, was awarded over $578,000 to combat its homeless problem but officials there were left scratching their heads because they don't have a homeless problem but rest easy, they're now reportedly searching for other ways to spend your money.

Number 11, teaches us exactly how much does it cost to turn a barn into a storage facility? Now if you guessed $590,000 congratulations, officials at a wildlife refuge in Hawaii are poised to write that check thanks to President Obama's stimulus.

And finally we've reached the top 10. In Maryland a no holds barred brawl is under way to claim the $120 million allocated to water projects.

Now, initially the town of Trap was poised to receive $18 million for a wastewater plant but the claws came out and rivals pressured them to withdraw request. And so the fight rages on for your tax dollars in Maryland.

And coming up, the top 10 continues with the most ridiculous wastes of your money yet. Plus stay tuned for Ainsley's Earhardt's report. She has number one.

And our spending map is keeping track of where your tax dollars are being spent. All right, let's once again take a look at the grand total. There you have it. Oh, we hit a billion. What's a billion among friends?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HANNITY: And we are back and nearing number one. But first, check first check out numbers nine through two.

People in Arizona are apparently confused about where they are going. Number nine on our list is a project to convert signs in Interstate 19 south of Tucson back into miles. You see in the 1980s the signs were converted to kilometers in anticipation of a national shift to the metric system. Whoops. Now, your stimulus money is going to pay to fix them.

Number eight provoked a fight between Senator John McCain and Senator Robert Bennett of Utah. It's an earmark for more than $1 million to pay for the removal of Mormon crickets in Utah.

Number seven takes us back to Montana again, where the City of Billings has asked to spend your stimulus money to improve the landscaping in front of the Crown Plaza Hotel. Is there any reason why the hotel just cannot pay for that themselves?

In Portland, Oregon, number six is a plan to spend another $1 million on covered garages for people's bicycles. Presumably the covered garages are to protect the bikes from the rain. How many people are going to be riding their bikes to work, by the way, in a thunderstorm?

We stay in the Pacific Northwest for number five. This one has Bill Gates smiling. The City of Redmond, Washington wants to spend $11 million to build a bridge connecting two adjacent portions of Microsoft headquarters. Now, come on, ladies and gentlemen, Microsoft and Bill Gates cannot afford to pay for that themselves?

Number four created quite a bit of controversy when it was proposed. It is an earmark of $200,000 for gang tattoo removal in Southern California. Now one critic in the United States Senate said, quote, If you are responsible for getting the tattoo put on, then you ought to be responsible for taking it off. I think that is rather well-said.

Number three might be my favorite. The State of Illinois is spending your stimulus money on road signs to announce to drivers that the construction you are passing is being paid for with, you guessed it, your stimulus money.

And finally, number two on our list of the 101 worst examples of waste, Senator Tom Harkin's nearly $2 million earmarked for swine odor research in Iowa. Now, what is there to research? Pigs stink. They can taste good. And senators love pork.

And finally, Ainsley Earhardt is live in Palm City, Florida, with a report on our number one example of government waste. Finally. Ainsley?

AINSLEY EARHARDT, FOX NEWS: Number one, Sean. We are at Palm City. The Palm City bridges behind us. Connects Palm City to Stuart, Florida, on the other side. Yes, traffic can be terrible. Especially at 5:00.

That is why decades ago, the folks in this community talked about building a new bridge. And now they're getting their wish thanks to the stimulus package. The new bridge will be built about three miles down the road. Price tag? $128 million. A lot of money. And is it worth it?

Well, supporters say yes, it will ease commutes, it will help with hurricane evacuations. It will create jobs. Opponents say it is wasteful spending, it is not needed. We already have a bridge. And there are environmental concerns. Endangered species are involved with all of this. That is why we are here in South Florida. We talked to some folks in the community and here is what they have to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are all pretty upset. We do not want it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think most of my neighbors are in favor of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All the neighbors I have spoken to are against it.

EARHARDT: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mainly the traffic issues and the noise. The noise is probably the biggest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it will give the area a lot of jobs as well. And it is a big project. I think it needed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bridge is going to be right here, almost where we saw sand, and going directly across over to those white pilings.

So obviously, we do not want it here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will ease the traffic on Palm City Bridge, get through in one light. Now it takes two or three sometimes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the busiest of days when I come across Palm City Bridge and I have to wait three stop lights to get across versus spending $120 million, no. Don't feel it is justified at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EARHARDT: If you spend stimulus money, there are some stipulations. A, it has to be shovel ready. This product is not ready. It has to be complete in three years. This project will not even begin for another two years. And here is why. The government has only purchased about half the land necessary.

So if this is so important to the community, they've been talking about it for decades. Should they be the ones raising the money, or should you, the taxpayer, living in California, in New York, in the heartland? Should you be spending the money? Or should your dollars be spent to build this bridge when there is already one that exists? I don't know. I report. You decide.

HANNITY: Thank you, Ainsley, and that completes our countdown of the 101 worst government waste. Now before we go, here is a final look at the map of waste and where all of your hard earned money is going. And there it is. Your grand total at 1,234,631,672 tax dollars. And by the way, there's plenty more waste in the bills. Folks, it is frightening.

But we are out of time. As always, thank you for watching. Have a great night.

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