Is cash-for-clunkers the worst-managed government program ever? It’s in the running:
The U.S. Transportation Department, billions of dollars behind in paying “cash-for-clunkers” rebates, has hired private contractors and solicited volunteers from the Federal Aviation Administration and its own executive ranks to work overtime to clear the backlog.
Employees of the FAA’s air-traffic-control unit were asked to help, but the Transportation Department stressed Friday that essential safety personnel were not diverted from their duties.
A total of 1,200 workers, including about 300 contractors from Citigroup, the financial services giant, are now working seven days a week to review applications and reimburse auto dealers for rebates advanced to customers, officials said. . .
The National Automobile Dealers Association . . . urged the Obama administration late Friday to extend the deadline because the program’s Web site was crashing. . .
From the start, the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS, proved too popular for its $1 billion budget and the several hundred employees assigned to the program.
Planners who expected to sell 250,000 cars in three months are now deluged with nearly twice that many applications seeking more than $2 billion in rebates after less than one month. Only 7 percent of the rebates have been paid, leaving many auto dealers out millions of dollars. Dealers were supposed to be repaid within 10 days. . .
“We set up the program in 30 days, which was what Congress gave us,” said Jill Zuckman, assistant to [Transportation Secretary] LaHood.
“No one anticipated that 250,000 cars would be sold in the first four days. It proved to be more than the people we had available could handle.”
(Via the Corner.)
The government decides to hand out $3 billion and then they’re surprised when people are eager accept the money? Sheesh.
Anyway, there’s a bit more on the diversion of staff from air traffic control:
An FAA memo obtained by The Washington Times reads in part:
“We have been asked to provide volunteers to assist with this high-visibility program . . . employees may work during regular business hours (providing mission allows) and/or overtime.
“The [Air Traffic Organization] has been asked to provide a list of 100 employees to assist. They will be asked to attend a two-hour training course this afternoon. The task is expected to take 5 to 10 days.”
But Ms. Zuckman said that only support personnel, such as in finance and operations, were asked to work on the clunkers program.
“Nobody is being ordered to do anything; we weren’t asking air traffic controllers to leave their posts. We’re using budget and accounting people primarily,” she said.
So you can take your pick of two different brands of incompetence:
- We are actually diverting administrative staff from an essential government function, “during regular business hours,” in order to encourage people to discard perfectly good cars!
- We have staff in air-traffic control who would otherwise be sitting around doing nothing.
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