Corzine Transparency Watch: Day 8 and Counting CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS ECHO PENNACCHIO'S CALLS TO KEEP PROMISE OF TRANSPARENCY

Eight days have passed since Senator Joe Pennacchio, R-Morris and Passaic Counties, asked Governor Corzine when he intends to keep his promise of transparency in the spending of $17 billion of federal stimulus money. The governor's stimulus Web site, http://www.recovery.nj.gov/, is almost useless to average taxpayers who want to track which counties, communities and projects are getting money that is supposed to spur job creation.

"The Star-Ledger reports today that two Congressional Democrats called for real openness and accountability in the $700 billion financial sector bailout," Senator Pennacchio said. "According to news reports, a special inspector general can't get information about how Wall Street banks are spending the money.

"Boy, can New Jersey taxpayers ever sympathize with those two congressional lawmakers and the special inspector general," Senator Pennacchio said. "Governor Corzine is showing his Wall Street roots by being anything but transparent about how billions of stimulus money is and will be spent in New Jersey.

"I call on the press and the public to join me in demanding that the governor immediately fix his Web site so that it shows which projects are under consideration or have already been approved. This information isn't a secret. The governor has created a 'Transparency and Accountability Task Force' to review projects and track spending. So far, we have seen no reports of what the task force is considering.

"New Jersey's 9.2 percent unemployment rate is much higher than any neighboring state's. New Jersey led the nation in new jobless claims in the last reporting period. The public needs to know now whether stimulus money is being spent in the most effective way to speed recovery and create jobs. When so much is at stake, we must demand that the governor do more than pay lip service to transparency and open government."