$2 Million Super-Paint Funding Questioned

What’s Behind This Taxpayer-Funded Earmark? CBS News Follows The Money

(CBS)  Sherwin Williams was one of the lucky winners in a recent round of Congressional funding. It got an earmark for two million in tax dollars to develop a super-paint that can kill toxic bacteria. But it’s a project some critics say isn’t even feasible.

But all the company had to do to get the money was ask its hometown congresswoman, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio.

Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., challenged the earmark on the House floor.

“What investigations, what research has been done to determine that this technology could be effective and is worth $2 million in taxpayer funds?” Campbell asked.

An earmark is a grant of money without normal public review, CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports. Members of Congress often deliver them to hometown projects or companies knowing little about the details or the value for the tax dollar.

What they do know is that bringing home bacon gets them votes - and job security.

“Those earmarks to local companies can be the worst kind of government spending,” says Ryan Alexander, a taxpayer advocate.

“By singling out one company without looking at what the marketplace has available, we don’t know that we’re getting the best product. We don’t know that we’re getting the best value for our money,” said Alexander, president of the group Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Myron Zebrak, who works for a Sherwin Williams competitor, said he was incensed when he heard the multi-billion dollar paintmaker got an earmark worth millions.

“I think the money isn’t well spent and it all ends up in the Congressman’s district. It’s not fair,” said Zebrak, who is a coating manufacturer.

But when asked about their hometown earmarks, members of Congress can get touchy.

Tubbs Jones refused CBS News interview requests so a crew found her at her Capitol Hill office.

“Don't you ever walk up to me like this,” she told Attkisson when approached on Capitol Hill by a CBS News crew. “Young lady, turn the camera off.”

“You can’t order us to turn our cameras off,” Attkisson replied.

“Okay, then you can’t … I can’t be forced to talk. Thank you very much,” Tubbs Jones said.

“I've been asking for an interview,” Attkisson explained.

“Don’t play me like that,” Tubbs Jones said.

And when Tubbs Jones grabbed Attkisson’s wrist, Attkisson said, “Please take your hands off me.”

“I'm not gonna take, I didn't mean any offense,” Tubbs Jones said. “OK. Wanna have a conversation?”

Attkisson replied: “I just want to ask you a couple of questions about the Sherwin Williams earmark.”

“Give me a few moments and I'll talk to you,” Tubbs Jones said.

A few minutes later, Tubbs Jones agreed to talk, and said she gave Sherwin Williams the earmark because the company told her it's the most qualified.

Does she have a problem with taking Sherwin Williams’ word for it?

“All I can tell you is that Sherwin Williams has a reputation for honesty, doing great work in my community and they came with a proposal that looked good to me,” Tubbs Jones said. “They showed me testing, they showed me a video and I said ‘let’s go for it!’”

Sherwin Williams wouldn't agree to an interview, but said under their concept they'll only recieve a portion of the $2 million. The rest will go to partners in the project.

Whether or not a new super-paint is ever invented, there’s one broad brush of truth - Tubbs Jones managed to created $2 million worth of goodwill in her home district.

And at this point Sherwin Williams hasn't had to compete for the money.

[likeitis5050]

Sherwin Williams wouldn''t agree to an interview, but said under their concept they''ll only recieve a portion of the $2 million. The rest will go to partners in the project.


Ahhhh....partners in the project. Hmmmm. Wonder just who these ''partners'' are and how long it will be before Tubbs Jones is before some committee testifying she knew nothing about where the money would actually be spent? This isn''t about Democrats scamming and s..cre..wing 98% of us while they shower their own voters with special favors. This is all of our government right now. Tubbs Jones no more deserves to be a Congresswoman than you or I deserve to be taxed into poverty to pay her salary. But she isn''t alone. Personal agendas that violate the fair process of free enterprise by excluding competition or get approval because they were attached to bills of importance should grounds for dismissal. And frankly, I don''t believe the people of Ohio have a clue just how unethical their Congresswoman really is...until now.

[maki22-2009]

God. What a reminder of why I no longer watch CBS news. Getting a jump on a black congresswoman because she has gotten a whopping 2 mil for a local company? What else is new? Have you any clue what a miniscule amount 2 mil is compared to the Federal budget. I found that, after the initial encounter (in which the reporter recoils in shock that a black woman has touched her - for which the congresswoman immediately apologizes) the congresswoman gave a very gracious interview. An interview she didn''t need to give. Well, you please the racist demographic, eh?

[robjk1-2009]

God. What a reminder of why I no longer watch CBS news. Getting a jump on a black congresswoman because she has gotten a whopping 2 mil for a local company? What else is new? Have you any clue what a miniscule amount 2 mil is compared to the Federal budget. I found that, after the initial encounter (in which the reporter recoils in shock that a black woman has touched her - for which the congresswoman immediately apologizes) the congresswoman gave a very gracious interview. An interview she didn''''t need to give. Well, you please the racist demographic, eh?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by maki22 at 09:42 PM : Oct 05, 2007



Always got to be racial, doesn''t it??

As far as being touched by the black congresswomen, it appears to be more of response to the congresswomen''s volatile response.

[socrates392]

Posted by maki22 at 09:42 PM : Oct 05, 2007

Touchy, touchy. I''m the first one to point out racism when it''s appropriate, but I think you are reading an awful lot into this incident. Are you suggesting that the CBS news reporter only investigated this earmark because the congress woman who proposed it happens to be black? Come on, that''s pretty hard to swallow! Just because a congress woman is black doesn''t mean she is immune to bad judgement! Save your racial indignation for real cases of racism like what''s going on in Jena, not an investigative report of congressional waste spending.

[pwrslm]

so what do you do, rub your spinach leaves on the wall before you eat it to kill the salmonella....

sure, nice cash gram demoncrats, gratzzzzz


we see what you are...you arent fooling anybody

[socrates392]

Posted by pwrslm at 10:46 PM : Oct 05, 2007

Hey, now, don''t act like this only a Democratic problem! Remember the infamous bridge to nowhere? Proposed by a Republican. This isn''t a partisan issue. All our congressmen these days are spendthrifts. All of them! And they will bankrupt this country before they''re through . . .

[pwrslm]

Hey, now, don''''t act like this only a Democratic problem! Remember the infamous bridge to nowhere? Proposed by a Republican. This isn''''t a partisan issue. All our congressmen these days are spendthrifts. All of them! And they will bankrupt this country before they''''re through . . .

Posted by socrates392

Back in January, the Dems were so hot about justice, just got into office alot of them, superior numbers, gonna fix the broken machine, kill earmarks...isnt that what they told us???

well...but bubble popped...we elected more liars...yes, the demons control congress

they are the demoncrats, right?

[pwrslm]

so...what do you do? rub your spinach leaves on the wall before you eat them? to kill the salmonella....or just spray it on before consuming? painted salad, anyone...

[pwrslm]

Whether or not a new super-paint is ever invented, there%u2019s one broad brush of truth - Tubbs Jones managed to created $2 million worth of goodwill in her home district.





thats good will? how can that be...good...will...when you take 2 million dollars of someone elses money and give it to a wealthy corporation? when the homeless people buy clothes, they pay taxes on thier clothes, its like taking food from thier mouths to give to a corporation whose CEO makes millions of dollars a year....

so much for....good....sense.

[pwrslm]

it would be better if they earmarked the two million dollars to fix up an orphanage or a health clinic for the poor...but for paint that kills salmonella?

what do you do, spray it on raw beef? does it come in multiple colors, we could do psychedelic strawberries!!

[maki22-2009]

For some time now, CBS News has been clearly attempting to appeal to a certain demographic, hoping, apparently, to peel away some of the FOX audience. For this demographic, a black Democrat is easy to put on the screen as code for the "welfare state" and the issue of entitlements that get their hackles up so easily. A few billion to Blackwater with NO accountability may not bother them, but 2 million to a midwestern congressional district that votes Democrat is simply maddening.

My point regarding race is that the money in this case is pretty insignificant by government standards. But CBS clearly chose to focus on a pretty small earmark because the images play to their demographic. They are appealing to a deep-seated prejudice that exists in much of their (dwindling) audience. The situation with regard to earmarks is unfortunately pretty standard. They could have gone to a lot of congressional offices and found the same story, many of which far exceed the 2 million in this story. There is a reason they chose this congressperson, because it plays to their old white angry demographic.

[socrates392]

Posted by maki22 at 11:59 PM : Oct 05, 2007

In defense of CBS, they cover Blackwater corruption all the time. As they should. I think the billions we are wasting in Iraq does bother them. Is $2 million small in comparison to $190 billion? Yes. However, this earmark is just the latest in a long string of pet projects funded by congress stretching back decades. I don''t think the reporter meant to single out this congress woman because she is an African American. I think he chose to report on this particular earmark because it is emblematic of a bigger problem in congress.

[senatorz06]

Come on guys. 2 million is 2 million more that could be used for more appropriate means. Kudos to the CBS correspondent for standing her ground too. Wish that would happen more often with our friends in the media.

[pwrslm]

I am not saying this is right. Of course not. However, now we see all these Republicans jumping out of the woodworks with a halo over their heads, worried to death about the taxpayers money. Just as lond as Bush gets the billions he wants for his war.

Posted by nikosk1

So you think that freedom from Saddam in Iraq is worth less than this 2 mill for paint? When we took out the low grade uranium, and the plans and equipment that some scientist buried in his yard until sanctions were lifted, it become obvious that eve 1 trillion to free Iraq was really a low price.

But this paint, hows this stuff work? If you got salad with salmonella on it, you just rub each salad leaf on the wall, or do you spray paint the lettuce?

Can we paint lakes with it? Get rid of the bacteria that kills kids? Is it latex, or enamel, we know the oil based paints are harder to clean up after.

compared to bush, the lie about this paint makes him look like an angel....really it does

so why do the taxes of the people need to be given to giant corporations that pay CEO''s multi million dollar salaries? is this what congress calls "truth", or is it "justice"...well, it really doesnt matter, its a lie, its got nothing to do with the business of the people, its a violation of our trust in congress

[pwrslm]

oh, im sorry mam, you have a viral infection that is spreading bacteria in your stomach, we just need to open it up and paint it, after that, you will be as good as new!!

[pwrslm]

oh, this is that super strain of resistant bacteria from AFRICA!@!! its deadly, but thats OK!! Just drink this paint, it will take care of the problem...

[pwrslm]

Sherwin-Williams C M. Connor $10,061,857 $1,075,296 $1,505,000 $2,534,483

CEO Connor at Sherwin Williams compensation is over 15 million per year, why do they need 2 million dollars of taxpayer money?

Let them pay for it, if they can afford to pay salaries of this stature.

I know one congress person that should be in jail, this company doesnt need a dime from the taxpayers.

[klingon69]

God. What a reminder of why I no longer watch CBS news. Getting a jump on a black congresswoman because she has gotten a whopping 2 mil for a local company? What else is new? Have you any clue what a miniscule amount 2 mil is compared to the Federal budget. I found that, after the initial encounter (in which the reporter recoils in shock that a black woman has touched her - for which the congresswoman immediately apologizes) the congresswoman gave a very gracious interview. An interview she didn''''t need to give. Well, you please the racist demographic, eh?
Posted by maki22 at 09:42 PM : Oct 05, 2007

Seems the only one so far that has even brought up race is:
YOU

[linfinster]

Hmmm, paint to kill toxic bacteria? How safe can THAT be to put on your walls .. "yes, welcome to my beautiful new home ... just don''t touch the walls or you''ll die!" I could see maybe a paint that can kill deadly mold .. but no that couldn''t be safe to touch either?! Sound crazy, and I wonder was tax breaks that company gets out of that town/State already!

[linfinster]

Seems the only one so far that has even brought up race is:
YOU Posted by Klingon69 at 11:49 AM : Oct 06, 2007

Right ON!

maki22? You''re an a*s*s! Stop corrupting the story! You may want to think $2million is nothing, but I have a few government programs that could really USE it!
How about a program to give free head lice kits out to low income families?
More free flu shots for the elderly?
More free assistance to get your hot water tanks insulated to cut fuel costs?
Even help lower the cost of building more jails for the corrupt CEO''s of this nation that steal our tax dollars (AND our TAXED dollars..)any way they can!

[cbs_oliver]

Two million dollars is not so much money.

I wonder how much it cost to run the story - all infrastructure and support costs included?

Maybe CBS could manage to get their number correct on the costs and rolls of Federally funded security contracters in Iraq and elsewhere including for use in interrogations and ......... torture.

That would be a story.

But CBS won''t get that lead from their Republican congressman buddy.

[linfinster]

Seems the only one so far that has even brought up race is:
YOU Posted by Klingon69 at 11:49 AM : Oct 06, 2007

Right ON!

maki22? You''re an a*s*s! Stop corrupting the story! You may want to think $2million is nothing, but I have a few government programs that could really USE it!
How about a program to give free head lice kits out to low income families?
More free flu shots for the elderly?
More free assistance to get your hot water tanks insulated to cut fuel costs?
Even help lower the cost of building more jails for the corrupt CEO''s of this nation that steal our tax dollars (AND our TAXED dollars..)any way they can!

[vote4paul]

*** STOP THE WAR & END CORPORATE CORRUPTION ***

Who Is Paying For Your Vote To Keep Control Of You And To Keep This War Going? Remember The Bankers Hold The Stock In Companies That Are Getting Billions In War Contracts!
Obama''s Contributers: Bankers / Special interest!
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Hillary Clinton''s Contributers Lawyers / RealEstate:
http://tinyurl.com/2ontpq

Rudy GIULIANI Contributors: Bankers / Hedge Funds!
http://tinyurl.com/2m2c4n

Ron Pauls Money Is From the People! We have someone who is NOT Paid Off By Special Interest or Bankers Money!!!
http://tinyurl.com/2q8vr3

If you ever want this War to End Vote Ron Paul 2008, No One Else Is Going To End It!
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues

Ron Paul Will:

** Stop Iraq War Immediately
** Eliminate IRS
** Eliminate Federal Reserve
** Eliminate Government Wasteful Spending
** Restore America''s Work Force & Values
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RON PAUL RAISES $5.1 MILLION 3RD Q!

It''s Not About Democrat Or Republican. It Is About
the People And Ron Paul Is America''s Last Hope! Vote For Ron Paul To Preserve The USA For Your Children & Grand Children!

********* VOTE RON PAUL 2008! *********

Join A ReVoLuTiOn Group In Your City:
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[bm6005]

The respondent to pwrslm is correct. This is not a partisan issue but as long as pwrslm and others believe it is then the republican party is safe from appropriate scrutiny. Forget the partisan BS fools. Congress, both parties are the enemy and it is time we start holding them accountable. For example, Congress chides the Iraqi parliament for not passing tuff legislation. The only thing our congress can vote on is pablum (see Petraeus ad). When''s the last time these fools passed difficult legislation? Social Security, Illegal immigration, tax REFORM, Health care''s ever increasing costs, frivolous lawsuits, etc.

Attention Americans! You''re are being screwed minus the benefit of a kiss! Replace ALL INCUMBENTS next year. Start over. Do this a couple of times and the congressional thieves may get the message. Domenici has been a senator for 25 yrs., 19 years too long!!!!

[Peter Leinfelder]

One more time....the people come last. Give a buddy the money, get a campaign donation.....they get the gold....we get the shaft.

[djconklin]

"*** STOP THE WAR & END CORPORATE CORRUPTION ***"

I can tell you why Ron Paul will never get my vote: because his supporter keeps post the same thing over and over on every comment section for every news story.

[maki22-2009]

Thank you for your kind comments. For the record, I would LOVE to have all earmarks, including this one, stopped. Yes, 2 mil is too much, but my point is that it is only a small drop in a very big bucket. Take that money and use it for school programs, elder care, immunizations, etc. instead of a dead-end war in Iraq, contractor no-bid contracts worth BILLIONS (Halliburton must **** themselves laughing at stories like this) and rampant cronyism.

But what would happen if we did that? The CBS News/FOX demographics would start screaming LIBERALS!! SOCIALISM!!

As far as my comment on race is concerned, CBS could have gone to every congressional district in the country and found someone sitting on a pile of wasteful earmark money. But all things being equal, they chose THIS congressperson because it reinforces the underlying meme that CBS tries to convey: tax and spend DEMOCRATS - the dark complexion of the person at the center of the story is just the icing on the cake.

The media plays us for chumps - you can either look at it with a critical eye or swallow it hook line and sinker. CBS is counting on its old white angry demographic to swallow it. IT IS ALL ABOUT APPEALING TO THE DEMOGRAPHIC IN ORDER TO INCREASE ADD REVENUE. Everything else is secondary.

P.S. If you think Ron Paul is your saviour, time to add more tinfoil to your hat.

This report was awful. If a company has a proposal then they should present it to their congressman. Just like Sherman Williams did.

And all the Reporter%u2019s theatrics was arrogant and uncalled for.

Also if this was %u201Cfollow the money%u201D Why didn%u2019t%u2019 you do a Republican lawmaker too.

[nothappyatall]

ALL of these cute little home-town earmarks look shady, but one has to consider several things;

The company pays TAXES in that county, BIG taxes of all kinds from corporate income to property/real estate and payroll, their employees live there and likewise spend their paychecks and pay taxes there.

To a huge company like Sherwin-Williams, this amount of money is PEANUTS, their payroll probably is that much a month if not a week.

EVERY district gets these little ''hometown'' perks, as they should- every county and state pays a miriad of TAXES to the Federal Govt, these ''perks'' bring some of it BACK where it was generated, its similar to a tax rebate.

You go to states that have a military base, they get all kinds of perks too, especially the towns whose biggest employer is the military.

I object to CBS swooping down on someone and dive-bombing them with cameras after they declined an interview with a crew whose intent was tabloid drama

[nothappyatall]

How about a program to give free head lice kits out to low income families?
More free flu shots for the elderly?
More free assistance to get your hot water tanks insulated to cut fuel costs?

Posted by linfinster
--
Your utility company already HAS weatherization and water heater insulation programs, mine does and gives out several free CFL''s, 2 sink water reducers, a water heater jacket, checks your insulation and has programs for discounted insulation and replacment windows. All you gotta do is CALL them.

More free flu shots? there is no shortage of those programs, the shortage is the VACCINES cant be produced fast enough for 300 million people and money isnt going to change that its a manufacturing problem

Free head lice kits?? Gezus man, if someone cant afford one, maybe they should have rethought their idea of having KIDS they cant support, if they cant afford that then those kids are not in good homes and theres a much bigger problem there than free lice kits!

[retiredusaf3]

Yep Your Dems at work again. Humm Didn''t see any contract bidding on this one.

[satxfreedom]

www.TrueWorldHistory.info

Sharyl,

Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif, must be your favorite politician since he keeps showing up on your stories. I know that Democrats are not saints, but can you be any more bias on your reports. Democrats are easy pickings for you since you don''t what to really follow our money. 2 Million dollars is a loss, but that does not compares with the Billions of dollars that gets lost through the White House with the Iraq War. I guess that would be too much for you to handle. Plus, your friend John might not like it.

[alphaa10-2009]

The practice of the "earmark"-- strictly speaking, the appropriation of public money outside public review and scrutiny-- began with the defense appropriations bill of 1970, when there were a dozen earmarks. By 1980, that year''s defense bill attracted 62 earmarks. By 2005, the defense spending bill included 2,671. Clearly, earmark sponsors have learned to use massive appropriations to shield their bills from public scrutiny.

The issue remains, should all legislative spending be reviewed with the same transparency reserved for most other spending? Both parties have used earmarks, and both have been accused of impropriety.

The 2005 congressional earmark total reached ludicrous proportions, with some $47 billion distributed through about 15,000 congressional earmarks.

[whispyseas]

'' ...

7 billion folk

average 90,000 countys of 90,000 folk

each county average 300 16+ acre trail group trail crossings of 300 folk each

spaced average mile or two apart

not a country or a company

just farm folk visting 33 sick beds or so each day at 33 different trail crossing trail groups

'' ... (36 a day? if minum wage = $50 & there''s 300 folk per village, then 10,800 vistors with $1 tips are required by each village each day, needing each to visit a sick bed at each of 36 villages to input $1 and output $1) ... ''

at each trail crossing, something like 300 2500 square foot parcels w/ 340 square foot cottage studios to borrow there or here or then or now

for drip compost fertilize and drip water irrigate and spore bloom farms and dirt farms

for dancing get well feed world songs rallyd round hundreds millions sick beds drifting tens millions spore bloom weed dragon trail fickle first aid lunch farm cottage studio trail group trail crossing yseedsberrys

... ''

[whispyseas]

'' ... i said close vietnam, they said, ''sir yes sir'', i said go dare all the kids, they said, ''sir yes sir'', i said i''m no sir i''m a ma''am, they said ''sir yes sir'', i said go jump in a lava lake, they got real quiet ... i''m so sorry ... really i am ... but last i checked: people did not spontaneously erupt in the middle of oblivion, earth did not come before eternity, therefore, i cannot possibly be surrounded by the suffering and by the mortal, because for that to happen, first i''d have to choose, consciously choose to do so, then i''d have to find myself in a place full of not only people, but of plants and animals and clouds and stars and molecules and microbes that consciouly choose to find themselves in that exact same world at that exact same time ... and what are the odds of that ... ''

[softspoken99]

3 words: Solar power paint.

[pwrslm]

Two million dollars is not so much money.
Posted by CBS_Oliver

two dollars is not so much money. two million is a million times more

the real figure is somewhere around 47 billion

this is the one that got into the light of day

they all should be stopped

it doesnt cost much, but those who we elect are just as prone to the same corruption as the last batch

its time to make a constitutional amendment ending the abuses of congress

that would cost a lot

but compared to what they are stealing from us

its not much

[pastdue1]

Two million dollars is not so much money.
Posted by CBS_Oliver
$2 million for Ohio by a congressperson who doesn''t even understand why.
Multiply the $2 million by the 50 states and you get $100 million. Wouldn''t that fund the current children''s health bill?

[irishfight70]

this is stupid, useless adn retarded, why dont you use the money for something useful like for orphanages or something tha nthis stupid ***

[paint2007]

I can make a tape also. I think other firms could use the 2 million dollars for R&D expense also. Does congress support free trade or are we moving to state run operations?

That congress lady has no clue about the dark side of large paint companies. Maybe I can sell my old car to her for 1 million dollars of tax payer.

[prhemmes]

As a chemist, I remember that there was research on developing a microbial resistant paint in the 1960''s. If you Google "antimicrobial paint" you get over 1000 hits. This paint probably exists today. If there was a specific need for something special, governmant grant procedures, open to all small companies, could offer funding at a much lower cost to the government. There is no justification for this earmark at all except to raise campaign contributions.

[keithinth]

Okay, how about doing some research before writing the story. Look into a line of products called CARC paint. The paint and coatings industry is highly competitive, high tech field. The products that the government wants researched are attainable. How does a paint product that greatly protects tank crews from chemical and biological warfare agents sound to all the parents of American service men? Moreover how does it sound to the service men themselves? To me, just the idea is worth a grant to investigate. By the way, Sherwin-Williams is the largest paint company in America. Maybe that had something to do with why the government chose them to do the research.

[paint2007]

Clearly, the person below is either an employee of Sherwin Williams or he/she has no clue about the paint industry. I have been in R&D for over 20 years in paint, there are other paint companies that could do the same.

All paint companies should get a grant for this. It is unfair. This from someone who has stock in Sherwin Williams.

[durationk34]

Anti-microbial paint technology is avalabile right now! The difference is the microbes you are combating. I think that the types in biological weapons will differ from those around the tub and toilet. If it can be done SW will certainly do it. If you had to choose someone to perform your heart transplant, would you choose the new guy fresh out of med school? Or would you choose the grizzled ancient doctor who has seen most every scenario play out on his operating table time and time again? Further, CBS and mass media in general will spin anything any direction in an effort to make a story. Headlines get attention and make advertising space more valuable. This is how CBS makes it''s money!! Every business entity has a method for growth. The media is no exception. Sherwin-Williams develops new paint technologies and applies them in pratical ways. Place that with fantastic, trademark customer service and you have a value that cannot be matched. Further, the integrity of SW makes it an easy choice for any person or group.