Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and other House Republicans proposed an audit commission of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Wednesday, claiming that proper transparency of stimulus spending has not yet been provided.

“It’s time for Congress to demand answers on behalf of the hardworking taxpayers we represent,” Wilson said in a statement. “It is critical that American taxpayers receive adequate answers as to the whereabouts of stimulus funds.”

The bill calls for a 10 member bipartisan commission to be established, with a chairman appointed by President Barack Obama. The commission would investigate how jobs are being reported, the accuracy in the number of jobs being created and preserved and pursue future steps for job development.

“If you look at the number of jobs created by district and then look at the extraordinary cost, it is very revealing in itself,” Wilson said.

Reps. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), Mark Sounders (R-Ind.) and Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) are co-sponsoring the bill, at Wednesday's press conference, each cited cost-benefit discrepancies on the official stimulus website recovery.gov.

“The Obama administration’s website creates phony Congressional districts and fishy jobs numbers,” Kingston charged. “It’s time to pull back the curtain and get some transparency."