Phantom Zip Codes Getting Stimulus Money

The news gets worse for Recovery.org.

In November, we learned that the government’s Web site that is supposed to track stimulus spending showed stimulus being spent in non-existent congressional districts, such as North Dakota’s 99th congressional district. North Dakota actually has only one congressional district.

A number of watchdog organizations now report that Recovery.org shows stimulus funds being spent in non-existent Zip codes.

NewMexico.Watchdog.org found that Zip codes reported for some of the projects in New Mexico don’t match any Zip code known to the U.S. Postal Service. The group also found a number of Zip codes for New Mexico projects that really belong to other states. NewMexico.Watchdog.org found hundreds of thousands of dollars of stimulus spending associated with incorrect Zip codes.

In West Virginia, meanwhile, $28 million in stimulus funds were spent in four unknown Zip codes, according to WestVirginia.Watchdog.org’s review of Recovery.org. The watchdog also reports that Recovery.org shows three Virginia Zip codes as receiving funds in West Virginia.

In Nebraska, $2.2 million in stimulus was spent in four zip codes that do not exist, according to Nebraska.Watchdog.org’s review of Recovery.org’s data. The Nebraska watchdog also found a Florida Zip code indicated as receiving stimulus funds in Nebraska.

And in Washington State, according to the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, “Nearly $3.5 million in federal stimulus spending has been attributed to Zip Codes in Washington state that either belong somewhere else or don’t exist at all.”

If the government doesn’t know where stimulus funds are being spent, then how can it know whether the funds are being spent wisely? How can taxpayers know?

by Alex Adrianson