Anti-Stimulus Lawmakers Fought For Funds, Report Says

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, is one of several Republicans who touted his opposition to the Recovery Act, and then quietly asked for funding under it.

/ AP

Dozens of Republicans who strongly touted their opposition to the 2009 Recovery Act have nonetheless quietly made requests for stimulus money, according to a report by the Center for Public Integrity.

The report finds that leading members of Congress -- including Rep. Pete Sessions, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former presidential candidates John McCain and Ron Paul, and Tea Party favorites Michele Bachmann and Sen. Scott Brown - have discreetly requested stimulus funds despite their public opposition to the initiative.

Sessions, a Texas Republican, has repeatedly decried the law as a "trillion dollar spending spree" that was "more about stimulating the government and rewarding political allies than growing the economy and creating jobs." But in February of 2010, Sessions wrote to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urging him to allocate $81 million in stimulus money for a project in an affluent Texas suburb, according to the report.

In his letter of request, Sessions changed his tone regarding the potential usefulness of stimulus aid in relieving recession-related hardships. "Carrollton's project will create jobs, stimulate the economy, improve regional mobility and reduce pollution," he wrote.

The report also states that Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid - both of whom say they prevented legislators from including special spending requests in the Recovery Act - did their own behind-the-scenes bartering to gain funds after it passed.

Conservative advocacy groups that oppose the Recovery Act have expressed their dismay at news of the discrepancy between rhetoric and reality on the part of some lawmakers.

"The GOP should not be taking this money and spending it regardless of where it came from," Rob Gaudet, national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, said to the Center for Public Integrity. "They should be fighting against it with every fiber of their elected beings."

For the full report from the Center for Public Integrity, click here.

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Lucy Madison is a political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of her posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter.

[bailey241]

these republicans have been touting that the stimulus did not work it's a proven fact they are liars.. they want the keys back they can't have them .. vote no to republican hypocrisy

[expatriot2]

This is not the first report I have heard on this story. The point is that on theone hand, the Republicans, Tea party included, have been screaming that the stimulus has not worked, that it is a compete disaster,not a single job created. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, they had no qualms asking for funding for projects needed to improve the infrastructure and (insert gasp) create jobs! Was the Stimulus expensive? You bet it was. Where has the money gone? Into the pockets of Americans who used it to buy food, clothing, pay rent and other trivial items. What happened when that money was spent? Sales and income taxes were collected, businesses experienced profits....it doesn't take much imagination to figure this out, it's Econ 101.

[kansas1946]

Just typical of Republican hypocrites. How can you tell if a Republican is lying? His/her lips are moving. The Republican party has absolutely no morals.

[Amusedbyitall]

Which is worse, McConnell, Pence, Sessions, McCain, Brown and Paul petitioning for the money or their constituents who enjoy the money and complain about government spending?

[Amusedbyitall]

The difference that the rightwing usuals seem to ignore is that neither Pelosi or Reid did not vote against the stimulous bill. Don't question the integrity of others until you learn the meaning of the word.

[whosaid1]

"neither Pelosi or Reid did not vote against the stimulous bill".....???

[Paul_I]

Senators and Representatives should benefit their constituencies even if they disagree with the legislation that made the benefit available. In most cases, almost half of the people in their districts are opposed to the positions their Senators and Representatives took. What is most telling is that these Senators and Representatives felt that they had to make the requests quietly and away from the public eye. This suggests that they personally feel that they are hypocrites. Let them judge themselves.

[Amusedbyitall]

Here's a catch word of the day you won't hear from Gingrich, Lumpball or Beck, "integrity."

[PapaGracio]

Of course they are going to ask for money, weather they use it or not they have to pay for it. If the people of every state have to pay for this stimulus, so each state is entitled to its share. If each of these people did not ask for any of the stimulus they would be doing a dis-service to the tax payers of their state. UNLESS, only the states that accept money from this stimulus package are accountable to pay the money back themselves.

[whosaid1]

MY...my...my...the liberal "thought" process....
Look "they" were opposed...."they" tried to stop it...but they were "overruled". Tax payer money was going to be used for it....tax money of their constituents.... So, you liberals think those constituents were suppose to "pay" for other people to receive stimulus dollars...and they could not receive any because "their" representatives were opposed to it....LOL

[whosaid1]

USA: I don't see hypocrisy here....are you suggesting that only the constituents of "representatives" that vote FOR an "item" may benefit from its passage....but everyone PAYS ?? And I guess the liberal side has NEVER benefited from anything they initially opposed.....LOL

[omded]

In this case, since the decision was already made to spend the money in this manner, it's only right that the opposition get in line to make the best of it. After all, these people are supposed to represent their local areas, and, this is how you do it. They may not have agreed with the stimulus spending decision, however, the majority won the vote, and, if these people didn't adjust and figure out how to make the best of it for their electorate, then they wouldn't be doing their jobs very well.

This appears to boil down to a situation where, if these people didn't stand up and state their views, they would be "damned". Likewise, now that it's clear how things are going to be, if they don't make the adjustment and figure out how to make the best of a bad situation, they'd also be "damned". So, they're damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

[GunsInTheSky]

I guess we can put you down for being ok with your party saying one thing and doing another. BTW, taxpayers will only pay for this if the money set aside for this is used, so your excuse is not valid.

[nomossonmyrocks]

They lied!?!? Just goes to show that there are no Washington reformists in either the Republican, Democratic or "Tea Party". Election season and hypocrisy knows no bounds. Brown, McConnell,Pence, Paul, McCain and Bachmann and the others named in the report are, like all of the others in Washington, the real problem.