Government Waste Is Alive And Well In West Virginia
In 2009, the state of West Virginia was granted $126,323,296 instimulus funding for the “West Virginia Statewide Broadband Infrastructure Project” to increase broadband access in public facilities including schools, libraries, and hospitals in what the grant defined as “vastly underserved areas.” Of this funding, $24 million was used to purchase 1,064 powerful Internet routers capable of supporting thousands of network users.
In a May 8th editorial, The Charleston Gazette suggested that West Virginia “blew $22,600” on each router, “designed to serve entire university campuses or industrial complexes -and are installing them in little public institutions as small as rural libraries with just one computer terminal.” The article also stated that it was later determined “that many West Virginia public facilities already have broadband routers. So 366 of the costly devices now sit in warehouses, not yet installed anywhere.” These unused routers worth $8.27 million in taxpayer funding, sit gathering dust somewhere in a West Virginia warehouse.
Shortly after the aforementioned article was published, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing on broadband loans and grants to discuss concerns with oversight and whether widespread waste was prevalent. During the hearing, U.S. Assistant Commerce Secretary Lawrence Strickling was asked several questions regarding the routers purchased in West Virginia, and to provide a reason as to why “powerful” routers were needed in areas so small and rural. Strickland stated, “the state made an economical decision that is well justified by the facts.” The facts he listed, however, seemed to contradict his statements. Strickland claimed that competitive bidding was used when purchasing the routers, but documents reported in The Charleston Gazette suggest otherwise.
Another concern that arose during the hearing with regard to the purchase of these routers was their size and capabilities. These highly advanced routers have the capacity to serve up to 1,000 network sessions, significantly grandiose for the libraries where they were installed, most of which have 5-10 computers. During the hearing, when asked about the necessity for these particular routers, Strickling stated, “West Virginia believes they have found the most economical solution by buying a single product and getting a substantial discount.” Given West Virginia’s current size and population, as well as previous census information, it is highly unlikely these particular routers would be utilized to their capacity anytime soon.
The massive spending on these unnecessary routers is a clear indication of government waste. Increased oversight, transparency, and responsibility are needed to ensure that these taxpayer dollars are spent in the most efficient way possible. Further clouding the future of increased oversight in this stimulus program, the Inspector General of the Commerce Department “told a House communications panel that Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform requires his department to spend all BTOP oversight funds by the end of the year — even though watchdog duties for the grant program will be needed long after that deadline,” according to an article published in Politico.
This program appears to be just another example of exorbitant waste with the stimulus program, and we are still paying for it three years later. Similar to the current economic landscape in our nation, West Virginia’s deficit is too great to be purchasing a Rolls Royce, when a bike will do.
