A mistake on a government Web site made it appear $1.4 million was earmarked to repair a door at Dyess Air Force Base, an apparent allocation of taxpayers' money that triggered an outcry from budget hawks and conservative pundits.
The incorrect information about stimulus contract money slated for the door, which was listed on the U.S. government Web site www.recovery.gov, generated outrage after it was highlighted Monday on the "Drudge Report," a Web news site with a conservative bent that registered 25 million hits between Monday and Tuesday.
The right-leaning "Glenn Beck Show" on the Fox News Channel also weighed in with criticism.
The Air Force base, located outside Abilene, Texas, scrambled to set the record straight.
"Recovery.gov mistakenly combined two contracts into one that were both awarded with stimulus money to AFCO Technologies after they won a competitive bid," said Capt. Will Powell, Dyess chief of public affairs.
The contracts actually were $246,100 to repair a hangar door and $1.198 million to repair natural gas lines.
Dyess officials contacted the "Drudge Report" Monday with the clarification, and www.Recovery.gov updated the information to reflect the two contracts awarded.
"We take seriously our responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer money," Powell said in a statement. "I assure you we are being smart and getting good value for the money with the stimulus funds provided to improve the economy and Dyess Air Force Base."
The cost of the hangar door includes repairing an electrical drive mechanism, safety devices, door seals, painting, cable and pulley system, control system and other items, Powell said.
"The hangar door repair will ensure the continued protection of our high-value B-1 Bombers and our personnel as they maintain the aircraft within the hangar," Powell said.
E-mail reporter Trish Choate at choatet(at)shns.com.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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