ABC News's Rick Klein reports:
When Vice President Joe Biden announced a new $3.3 billion grant program to upgrade the nation's electricity network, the rationale was simple: "This is jobs -- jobs," he said in April. But the Obama administration is now saying it will not take the potential for job creation into account in "rating" proposed projects for possible funding -- after initially saying that would be a primary consideration. In April, when the Energy Department first announced regulations for companies that wish to apply for "Smart Grid Investment Grants," "job creation and retention" was among the explicit criteria. "Projects will be evaluated based on the extent to which they create and retain jobs," the Energy Department wrote in its official "Notice of Intent" for the grant program. Other criteria included "project approach and feasibility" and "project impact." But late last month, the department quietly modified the criteria to take the job piece out. As the department explained in a June 26 set of Frequently Asked Questions: "These criteria differ significantly from those presented within the [Notice of Intent]. First, DOE removed the criterion on the extent of jobs creation and now will require applicants, as stipulated within the Recovery Act, to report quarterly on the number of jobs created and retained." In a question-and-answer section written to help applicants understand the process, the document continues: "Will DOE use the number of jobs estimated to be created and/or retained as a criterion for rating a proposal for funding?" "No. Although job creation is not included in the technical criteria used to rate proposals, it plays an important role throughout the grant process, and grant recipients are required to submit the numbers of jobs created and retained in their quarterly reports to DOE and to recovery.gov."
The good news is that the Obama administration will save or create dozens of full-time jobs for goal-post movers.