Scott and Jindal, Twins of Stimulus Hypocrisy, Fly Around Florida

NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTYFor Immediate Release: Sept. 17, 2010
Scott and Jindal, Twins of Stimulus Hypocrisy, Fly Around Florida
 
Disgraced executive Rick Scott continues his campaign of lies and hypocrisy today as he appears with jet-setting Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal at private airports in three cities in Florida.   Jindal and Scott have one thing in common – their rhetoric opposing the stimulus contrasts sharply with their record of benefiting from the legislation.  The two are fighting to see who’s more of a hypocrite on the Recovery Act — as Governor of Louisiana, Jindal has taken over $1 billion in stimulus funds for his state, but as a large investor in XFONE, Scott has seen the value of his investments increase by $4 million since receiving the stimulus funds. [Recovery.gov and Palm Beach Post Blog, 6/24/10]
“I’d like to welcome the Twins of Stimulus Hypocrisy to airports all over the Sunshine State!” said Eric Jotkoff, spokesperson for the Campaign for Accountability 2010.  “Rick Scott invested millions in a company that has been awarded over $99 million of our tax dollars, including over $30 million just this week – and now he’s traveling around our state with a Governor who stakes his claim on criticizing the stimulus, but flew around Louisiana giving out big checks,”
Yesterday, the Orlando Sentinel reported that a company Scott is significantly tied to recently issued a press release touting $36.1 million in stimulus funds they received and the additional 1,300 jobs the money will create, bringing to a total of $99 million in stimulus funds awarded to XFONE in grants and loans.  Interestingly enough, the Sentinel reported that Pride Network Inc., the XFONE subsidiary that received the funds, is located in Louisiana.  Considering Jet-Setting Jindal traveled around Louisiana handing out big checks of stimulus grants, apparently Scott wasn’t the only one who benefited from the legislation. [Orlando Sentinel, 9/16/10]
“Jindal and Scott’s stimulus hypocrisy is a bigger joke than Bobby Jindal’s train wreck response to the State of the Union address last year,” Jotkoff added.  “At least jet-setting Governor Jindal made sure his state got their tax dollars back – the only place Rick Scott thinks our tax money should go is into his bank account.”
 
BACKGROUND:
Rick Scott Continues To Reap Financial Rewards From The Federal Stimulus Which He “Has Frequently Lambasted.”  “Although Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rick Scott has frequently lambasted President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan, a telecommunications company he has invested heavily in continues to reap financial rewards from the federal program.”  [Orlando Sentinel, 9/16/10]
 
Rick Scott Is Invested In A Company That Was Awarded $36.1 Million In Stimulus Funds This Week-Nearly $100 Million Total.  “Scott was criticized by his primary opponent, Attorney General Bill McCollum, for saying he would ‘fight all of the stimulus money’ even though he had invested nearly $5 million into a company called XFONE, Inc. that had received $63 million in stimulus loans and grants to build fiber-optic networks. … This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that an XFONE subsidiary called Pride Network Inc. in Louisiana had been awarded another $36.1 million in loans and grants to build a fiber-optic network in three parishes there. The funding is coming from a $518-million piece of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – the stimulus bill.”
 
Governor Jindal Handed Out “Jumbo-Sized Checks” To Local Officials Largely From The Stimulus Money He “Denounced As Useless And Irresponsible.” “Weekdays, Jindal will descend from the sky in some remote part of the state to sign jumbo-sized checks and hand them out to local officials so that they can fulfill their infrastructure dreams. The money comes largely from President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, which Jindal has denounced as useless and irresponsible, but he does not dwell on that before climbing back aboard.” [Times Picayune, James Gill Op-Ed, 9/3/09]
 
Governor Jindal Opposed The Recovery Act But Is “Passing Out Stimulus Money To Municipalities In Photo-Ops Featuring Humongous Cardboard Checks.” “Gov. Bobby Jindal apparently needs to get his story straight. He opposed the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act – the Obama administration’s ‘stimulus plan’ – from the get-go, assuming the posture of fiscal responsibility with several other GOP governors this spring, and he’s been touring the state of late telling communities small and large that we don’t do things in Louisiana like they do in Washington. All while the governor has been passing out stimulus money to municipalities in photo ops featuring humongous cardboard checks.” [The Independent Weekly, 7/23/09]
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