GOP senators decry stimulus spending

Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and John McCain, R-Ariz., Tuesday unveiled a report that identifies 100 projects funded by the $862 billion stimulus package that they contend wastes taxpayer money.

"Eighteen months since the passage of the stimulus bill, millions of jobs are still gone and the economy is as uncertain as ever," Coburn said. "The only thing getting a boost is our national debt. The stimulus has helped push it 23 percent higher, to $13.2 trillion, a new record."

Coburn and McCain conceded the measure likely created jobs but that the funds could have been spent more effectively, reducing the ultimate cost to taxpayers.

"There are bound to have been, when you spend this much money, jobs created," McCain said. "But what is the price for future generations of Americans -- the $1.1 trillion in additional debt. That overwhelmingly negates any 'positive effects' that it may have had."

Among the projects highlighted in the report was Pittsburgh's North Shore Connector, an extension of the city's light rail system which received $62 million in stimulus funds.

"Unfortunately, the North Shore Connector has been plagued with problems since its inception, making it seem in this case that federal officials are throwing good money after bad," said the report.