Projects get stimulus funds despite limited economic impact

A report by Michelle Breidenbach of The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) shows that in many cases stimulus funds funneled through the National Institutes of Health are going towards previously unfunded proposals with no regard for job creation or economic impact. In one example, a formerly wait-listed grant for $500,000 was awarded to Cornell University for the purchase of new equipment manufactured outside the U.S. While stimulus road projects require the use of American-made steel, no such stipulation exists for equipment acquired with research grants. "It's likely in the scientific world that a lot of equipment is not made in the United States," said Sally Rockey, acting deputy director for extramural research at the NIH.