The House and Senate passed a three-week stopgap measure to fund the federal government and reduce spending by $6 million but not without defections from both sides of the aisle. One the most vociferous opponents of the legislation were members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The entire body voted against the three-week extension.

“I could not vote for another short term and short-sighted spending bill presented by the Republican leadership today. It is time that we all come to the table with an agreement to keep the government working and functioning. Funding the government in short cycles makes little sense and leaves the American people in limbo. The American people do not deserve this,” says CBC Chairman Emanuel Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat. “I remain committed to responsibly reducing the deficit, but not at the cost of critical programs that service and support our most vulnerable communities. We cannot rely on hard working American families to continue making the majority of the sacrifices. Weekly irresponsible cuts not only weakens our nation’s full recovery but it also weakens our ability to create jobs. The buck stops here. The time for an agreement is now.”

Several conservative Republicans also voted against the measure, signaling that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will face difficulty gaining support for a long-term continuing resolution that will include the inevitable compromises he will need to make with Senate Democrats. In fact, before Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the Republican Study Committee, maintained that he would vote against the short-term resolution because it doesn’t cut funding for Planned Parenthood.“We need to stop sending taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood, and we need to defund ObamaCare,” he says. “And we need to start tackling next year’s budget, the debt-ceiling, and other challenges standing in the way of job creation.”

On the Senate side, Florida Republican Marco Rubio also announced earlier this week that he would oppose the bill. He said Democrats have been unwilling to make any serious cuts and the White House has largely been unengaged in the budget process.

At a GOP jobs forum this week, Boehner acknowledged that negotiations will continue to be tough “because we only control the House. There a lot of other players we need to work with in order to come to any agreement to keep the government open.”

House Republicans Target Another Mortgage Relief Program

The House of Representatives voted this week to eliminate funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), one of the Obama administration’s key foreclosure prevention programs. It was one of two such programs the GOP seeks to defund through their YouCut initiative, which gives the public the opportunity to help reduce federal spending by voting to eliminate government programs. NSP was created through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus package, to help sustain communities affected by multiple foreclosures. Last week, the House voted to eliminate the Federal Housing Administration Refinance Program designed to help homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth refinance mortgages at lower rates and the Emergency Mortgage Relief Program, which provides loans to unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure.

Speaking from the House floor on Wednesday before the vote, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) condemned the GOP’s efforts to end such programs and offered, along with other Democrats, amendments to counter some of the effects of the GOP measure. They did not have enough votes, however, to gain approval.

“It’s a very sad day in our Congress. We are in the middle of an enormous debate on the proper role of government. We believe that the proper role of government is to have fair rules, to have real enforcement of our financial regulations, to have real consumer protections and intervene when people’s neighborhoods are being destroyed by foreclosure,” Ellison says. “And the Republicans say, ‘You’re on your own, the market has all the answers. The market answers every question. ‘Well, it doesn’t answer every question, especially when the market doesn’t have any cops on the beat and when you let the people engage in all sorts of nefarious practices that caused the economic conditions we’re in today.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) believes the move was another signal that the Republican-led House simply doesn’t understand the needs and desires of American voters.“Once again, the Republicans totally misread the message that the voters were sending us in November and are totally insensitive to the needs of their own constituents,” he asserts. “There are communities all around this country that have houses that have been abandoned because of foreclosures. NSP was created so that local entities can buy properties, maintain them and hopefully sell them back to folks. And the main objective is to keep neighborhoods strong.“

Cummings also questioned how his Republican colleagues could go to Sunday church services and brag to constituents about their vote to force roughly 30,000 homeowners to leave their properties while he struggles to explain to citizens in his district why the House took such action.

House GOP Push Welfare Reform

Rep. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), one of the House’s two black Republicans, and Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) introduced this week the Welfare Reform Act of 2011, a measure that seeks to put welfare recipients to work and return federal spending to pre-recession levels when the unemployment rate falls to 5.5%.

“I am proud to be a principal co-sponsor of the Welfare Reform Act and will work with my colleagues to see this measure advance through the House,” says Scott. “We have seen welfare spending continue to rise dramatically, even as the number of Americans living at or below the poverty level increases. We should seek to break the cycle of poverty and offer a path to self-reliance, and with it, self-respect.”

The bill would require food stamp recipients to work or prepare for a job. The measure would also call for an annual report of figures for total federal, state and local welfare spending over the next decade.

Rep. Robert Scott (D-Virginia) maintains that any effort to help recipients find work is laudable, but also said that it would cost money. “Many in the CBC like the idea that people would have a pathway to employment as part of welfare reform and we certainly support that over indefinite welfare payments,” he says. “Good, strong welfare reform doesn’t save money. If you try to save money you’re not going to do as good a job. The cheapest thing on the table is to just write the checks. When you start providing daycare and job training and job creation, there are expenses involved that often exceed what simply writing a check would cost.”

BE Editor-in-Chief Derek Dingle with Secretary Geithner

When Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States, the nation stood on a financial cliff. The deteriorating banking sector, credit crunch, collapsing housing market and plummeting stock market, among other fiascos, threatened to plunge the nation into Depression 2.0. Part of the president’s rescue plan was tapping Tim Geithner, the former New York Reserve Bank president, as Treasury Secretary. Having served in the Treasury Department during the Clinton Era and engaged in the first leg of the bailout of the financial industry before George W. Bush left the White House, Obama saw him as being perfectly suited to help him develop every major plank of his agenda to revive and grow the American economy, including continuation of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP; crafting the $787 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus package; and comprehensive financial reform. Two years later, the nation is back from the brink and GDP is growing at pre-recession levels. However, Geithner must wrestle with major challenges as he meets the  president’s mandate to rebuild America for future prosperity and competitiveness: stubbornly high unemployment,  a tepid housing market and a projected $1.5 trillion federal budget deficit.

In an exclusive interview that took place after the president’s second State of the Union address, BLACK ENTERPRISE Editor-In-Chief Derek T. Dingle talked with the nation’s chief financial officer on Black Enterprise Business Report about a range of issues, including the administration’s ability to finance Obama’s ambitious “win the future” agenda, provide foreclosure relief for the jobless, implement financial reform and develop targeted programs for African American communities that have suffered the most during the economic downturn.

Tax credits can help ease the burden of unemployment.

Labor Day is upon us, but unfortunately 9.5% of the population and 16.6% of African Americans are unemployed. Some 6.6 million people or 44.9% of the unemployed have been that way for 27 weeks. If you’re one of them, the last thing you want to think about are your taxes. Last week on the Tax Insider, we looked at tax tips that can help the unemployed get tax money in their hands now. But if you plan ahead and consider now what tax credits you might be eligible for, then you might be able to get tax refunds in April 2011 also. Here are six tax credits that anyone can claim, but are especially beneficial to the unemployed.

Earned Income Tax Credit. If you worked part of the year before you became unemployed you can qualify for The Earned Income Tax Credit. The EITC is a credit for people who earn low-to-moderate incomes. You must have earned income from employment, self-employment or another source and your child must pass the relationship, age, residency, and joint return tests. You can receive between $3,050 and $5,666 for one to three or more children. For the maximum earned income for taxpayers with children visit the IRS 2010 Earned Income limits page. Most people think the EITC is for people with children, but that is not true.  If you do not have a child you can still receive the credit of $457, but you must be between 25 and 65 years of age, you can only file as single/head of household or jointly with a spouse and you must make less than $13,460 single ($18,470 married). You cannot file separately if you are married.

Expanded Child Tax Credit. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) temporarily expanded the refundable portion of the child tax credit, for tax years 2009 and 2010. This credit can go towards offsetting your tax bill, but it is also partially refundable; meaning more money in your pocket come tax time. You also need to have earned income to receive this credit. Last year, after the tax bill was paid, tax payers were able to receive 15% of their earnings minus $8,500 as a refund. Now that threshold has decreased to 15% of earnings minus $3,000, taxpayers can get more of their money refunded. Also look into the Additional Child Tax Credit. If the amount of your child tax credit is limited by your income tax liability, you may be able to claim the ACTC if your earned income is less than $110,000 for a married couple filing jointly or $75,000 as single/head of household. If your income exceeds the above limit, then your credit will be reduced by $50 for every $1,000 that exceeds the income guidelines.

The Child and Dependent Care Credit. If you are looking for work and must arrange for care of a child under 13 years of age, a spouse or another dependent who is not physically or mentally able to care for themselves and lived with you for more than half the year, then those expenses may help you get a credit on next year’s tax return. The credit can be used toward the cost of day camp, a sitter at your home, or a daycare facility outside the home. The actual credit can be up to 35% of your qualifying expenses, depending upon your income. You may claim up to $3,000 of the expenses paid in a year for one qualifying individual or $6,000 for two or more qualifying individuals. But remember, to get the credit you should not have received reimbursements for those expenses from an employer or other organization.

Health Coverage Tax Credit. If you lost your job due to trade competition with foreign countries and you’re receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance, pension payments from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), you are covered by a qualified health plan, over 55-years of age and you meet other general requirements then you and your family may qualify for the Health Coverage Tax Credit. The HCTC was established to help cover the cost of health insurance and families can receive the HCTC even if they don’t owe taxes. The HCTC pays 80% of health insurance premiums to qualifying individuals and their families.

American Opportunity Credit. Fall classes at colleges and universities are starting now, and many career counselors say returning to school to get a post secondary degree is a good idea when you can’t find a job. Not only that, but it might put a little extra in your wallet next year. If you or your children go to college for a bachelor’s degree then the American Opportunity Credit, formerly called the Hope Credit, can provide as much as $2500 per student and 40% of the credit is refundable; meaning you can receive up to $1,000 even if you owe no taxes. It was created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Taxpayers will receive a tax credit based on 100% of the first $2,000 of tuition, fees and course materials paid during 2010, plus 25% of the next $2,000 of tuition, fees and course materials paid during the taxable year. The full credit is available to individuals whose modified adjusted gross income is $80,000 or less, or $160,000 or less for married couples filing a joint return. There is one downside, if you claim the AOC credit then you cannot deduct $4,000 for tuition and fees in the same year or claim the Life Time Learning Credit. Before claiming the credit calculate which is most beneficial the AOC, the LTLC, or the deduction.

Life Time Learning Tax Credit. If you are pursuing an advanced or professional degree and will be enrolled less than full time consider the Life Time Learning Tax Credit. You can claim a tax credit of up to $2000 per tax return (not per student). However, it is non refundable— the maximum credit that you can receive is limited to the amount of tax you owe.

Visit the Tax Insider next week for more tax news, advice and tips.

For more information visit:

Tax Insider: Tax Tips for the Unemployed, Part 1

The Tax Center for Unemployed Tax Payers

Overlooked Tax Breaks

Ooooh....looks like money!

If you’re planning to take advantage of the appliance rebate program, you better put some pep in that step. Depending on the state in which you reside, time (and money) is running out. The program, which began last December (starting with the state of Delaware), offers from $50 to $500 in rebates when you purchase Energy Star qualified appliances for your residence. Qualifying appliances include boilers, air conditioners, and refrigerators. Each state has until February 2012 to spend money provided for the rebate program, which was funded by the $300 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. However, some states have already run out of their portion (such as Minnesota and Kansas) and have closed their programs.

Know that only purchases that replace an existing appliance are eligible for a rebate. And in some states you’ll have to provide proof that your old appliance has been taken away or recycled. The good news is that some states will provide an additional rebate if you recycle your old appliance. (And it’s good for the environment. Give Mother Nature an early Earth Day gift and present her with your old boiler. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it).

Each state has its own guidelines for how its share of the rebate money will be divided. You can get information about your state’s rules by visiting ApplianceRebate.com. In addition, each state has its own rebate program Website. The state Websites offer rebate forms and a list of instructions on how to participate in its appliance rebate program. A directory to the states’ rebate Websites can be accessed by visiting the U.S. Department of Energy Website.   The U.S. Department of Energy Website lists the amount of money allocated to each state and the start date for each program.

For those of you who reside in states where the program has yet to begin (such as Maryland and West Virginia) don’t delay when you get your chance. Get your rebate before it’s gone.

Sheiresa Ngo is the consumer affairs editor at Black Enterprise.

Click here for more BEing Green articles on African Americans, energy and the environment.

Valerie Jarrett

Jarrett said that the expected passage of Obama’s $3.5 trillion budget before the end of the month is unprecedented given that it was done so quickly amidst severe economic challenges facing the country.

Jarrett commended Obama for immediately taking “bold action” to address the faltering economy by passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, what she calls the most sweeping stimulus bill ever enacted into law. The recovery bill is the president’s short term strategy to mobilize jobs and rebuild the economy over the next two years, and his long term strategy is to invest in energy, healthcare, and education, Jarrett said.

The administration expects that the [recovery plan] will create or save 3.5 million jobs, expand temporary assistance, and extend the tax cut for 95% of working Americans.

“It is designed to help the harsh impacts on our community through this economic storm and to look beyond the immediate crisis and make critical investments for the future,” Jarrett said.

Jarrett who runs the Office of the Public Liaison and heads the Office of Urban Affairs Policy talked about how Obama’s budget initiatives will significantly affect our nation’s cities where 80% of American’s live. She says that one of the biggest challenges to implementing the president’s agenda is getting the agencies to work together and understand that their programs need to complement one another.

“It is important that as these dollars flow that the decisions are being made on the ground and in the communities that are most directly affected,” Jarrett said. “We’re looking at efficiencies in the federal government. It will help our office of urban affairs that the president has recruited a team that understands the importance of working together.”

A few hundred protestors gathered in Washington D.C. Wednesday to participate in one of the many tea party demonstrations taking place across the nation.

President Barack Obama marked this year’s tax filing deadline at a White House event to promote the tax cuts included in the stimulus bill. While the president addressed reporters in the Old Executive Office Building, a few hundred protestors across the street braved pouring rain and slippery mud to participate in one of the many tea party protests taking place around the country. “We’ve passed a broad and sweeping tax cut for 95% of American workers. This tax cut was a core focus of my campaign, it was a core component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and it is the most progressive tax cut in American history,” Obama said. “And, starting April 1st, Americans saw this tax cut in the extra money that they took home with each paycheck.”

The stimulus bill, which Congress passed in February, includes a $400 payroll tax cut for individuals and $800 for couples. Obama estimates that this paycheck tax cut will benefit 120 million people and put $120 million into their pockets. He also said it will save or create a half-million jobs.

Another provision in the legislation allows small businesses to offset their losses against their income for five rather than two years. “This could provide a record number of refunds for small businesses, which will provide them with the lifeline they need to maintain inventory and pay their workers,” Obama said.

Keith Moore, president of the consulting firm KDM & Associates, says that it’s too early to tell how beneficial the small business provision will be, although it seems promising. He’s far more concerned, however, about frozen credit markets than tax credits. “As long as TARP funds are being tunneled into the largest banks and they continue to not lend to small businesses, I’m afraid the charge Obama wants to lead will be continuously hampered,” said Moore.
Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said Obama chose Tax Day to talk up the stimulus bill because this is a time when the federal government has to step in to cut taxes and spend more because consumers, businesses, and state and local governments are pulling back.

A group of conservative leaders, including former attorney general Edwin Meese and Grover Norquist, who heads Americans for Tax Reform, issued a statement before the White House event that said, “There is no justification for the countless billions that citizens will have to pony up this tax season to fund liberalism’s reckless abuse of the federal treasury. At exactly the time when working families could use a break, the Obama regime and the liberal Democrats in Washington and state capitals are burdening them into a future of even more onerous tax days.”

Although Obama did not comment on the tea parties, he did respond to his critics. “For too long, we’ve seen taxes used as a wedge to scare people into supporting policies that actually increased the burden on working people instead of helping them live their dreams,” he said. “That has to change.”

Obama also announced that he’s asked Paul Volker, a former Federal Reserve chairman and member of the president’s economic advisory panel, to conduct a review of the tax code and submit a report on ways to simplify it by the end of the year.

When Congress returns from recess next week, lawmakers will begin debating which of President George W. Bush’s tax cuts to extend or sunset. Obama’s 2010 budget proposal calls for a tax increase on the wealthiest families and a limit on itemized deductions taken by households earning more than $250,000. “We need to end the tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans so that folks like me are paying the same rates that the wealthiest 2% of Americans paid when Bill Clinton was president,” Obama said.

That’s exactly the kind of talk that drew Keith Lewis, a black businessman who owns the consulting firm LMK Partners, out into the rain. “What’s happening right now is there’s this false sense of stimulus money coming in to create jobs but the money’s going to disappear, governments are going to be left hanging and will have to let go of people. Here I am trying to run a business and hire people, but if the tax burden is high on me, I won’t have the money to bring new people in,” said Lewis. He’s also worried about the burden the level of debt the government is incurring will place on his grandchildren. “It’s easy to talk about pain now, but it’s nothing compared to the pain that’s going to be felt in the future,” he added.

 

Rep. Charles Rangel

I enter Congressman Charles Rangel’s suite of offices, housed on the 7th floor of the Harlem state office building named after the late, legendary politician Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.  The 12-foot stainless steel statue of Powell’s likeness–complete with the defiant, purposeful  stride–can be found on the plaza below, linking America’s premiere Black Hamlet’s past with its present. Inside the office is a buzz of activity as aides field calls, make appointments, and handle the concerns of an occasional walk-in constituent–one being an elderly man who wants to know about his housing status in between interludes of Nat King Cole tunes.

Rangel, who unseated Powell in 1970, has spent the past four decades dealing with eight presidential administrations, a battery of political challenges, countless partisan victories, and a scandal or two as this district’s perennial representative. I am in the office to conduct my first on-camera interview for our Black Enterprise Business Report television show with the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, one of the nation’s most powerful legislators. The interview focuses on–what else?–President Obama’s massive, unprecedented economic agenda. The meeting falls on the day after U.S. Navy snipers rescued a lifeboat captain from Somali pirates–making Obama reportedly the first commander-in-chief who has had to deal with pirates since Thomas Jefferson–and the day in which the president announced that his administration has approved the two-thousandth local infrastructure project since the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act more than six weeks ago.

As our field producer Kenneth Meeks, a student of politics in his own right, finishes handling the logistics, I meet the raspy-voiced powerbroker–the second time I’ve had a chance to conduct a face-to-face Q&A session since he gained control of Ways and Means two years ago. As we shake hands, Rangel flashes his smile, beaming over the new political era he never fathomed he’d participate in. Of course, he relishes it even more that Democrats control the White House and two houses of Congress.

Last year, when he went along with the $700 billion bailout plan, now known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Rangel admits “he was scared to death like everyone else.” But the measure, he asserts, was necessary to provide stability to a fragile financial system. He supported the administration’s mammoth $787 billion stimulus package that was to help “stop the pain” through, among other items, unemployment relief and preservation of public sector jobs. But he was most excited on April 2, when he voted along with his Democratic colleagues for the $3.55 trillion budget package that closely followed Obama’s “blueprint for America,” a plan calling for the overhaul of the infrastructure and instruction within America’s schools, reformation of the costly octopus of a healthcare system, and initiation of the green economy over the next decade. He likens it to being a part of FDR’s new deal. “Every generation has to go through something like this” he gushed at the beginning of the interview. “It’s righting the course of America.”

My response: “Well, Rahm Emanuel [Obama’s Chief of Staff] has been quoted as saying, ‘You shouldn’t let a crisis go to waste.’ ”

“I wouldn’t characterize the situation that way.”

However, he did agree that the economic catastrophe was an opportunity to “remake America,” although he didn’t sound convincing when I asked him just how the administration would cut the deficit in half by 2013 without raising taxes across the board. He finds much of the answer in significant GDP growth – the Obama administration estimates it will expand by 2.6% each year.

Although transforming the economy will not be easy, Rangel has placed his faith in the administration’s approach. For instance, when I asked how businesses that have lost their financial footing and now have severe credit problems will be able to qualify for funding under the revamped SBA 7(a) guaranteed loan program, he told me, “I don’t know except to say that you’re going to have extreme local, state, and federal regulations and support to know that it’s not just the right thing to do but if [small business] goes under, they are encouraging, indirectly, the problem that we are trying to get out of … But [the Obama administration is saying] something that I haven’t heard in all of the years that I’ve been in government, that this is going to be to be a compassionate administration that is going to recognize that we don’t want people to go under … We don’t want people to have to foreclose and sell their businesses … We don’t just want to be a creditor that enforces the law. We want people to know that we want to work things out.”

Rangel readily admits there “are going to be some losers but, in terms of a generation, I don’t think there’s been a more exciting and challenging time for American minorities.”

“When the Roosevelt recovery came, that picked up everybody. Blacks were trained. Blacks were building. Blacks were providing art and music. And even after World War II, even though blacks were treated worse than German prisoners, that G.I. Bill picked us up and [enabled] us to go into business and have homes. I think that we’re going through that period now when we’re talking about billions of dollars out there for the green economy,” he recounts as he rattles off alternative fuel programs, solar energy projects, and biofuel initiatives. “What world are we talking about? It’s not your world or mine. It’s our kids’ world.”

From 125^th Street, Rangel makes his connection from the challenging present to a glorious future.

Tax Credits for Hiring

The stimulus law extends the benefit of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which gives businesses a tax credit of up to $2,400 for employing traditionally disadvantaged workers, including disabled employees, food stamp recipients, and ex-felons.

The stimulus package expands the definition of these disadvantaged “target groups” to include certain unemployed veterans and disaffected youth (ages 16-25, who aren’t working steadily or in school).

Jennell Williams, president and CEO of HR Workplace Solutions in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, says companies who rely on these employees have more of an incentive to hire them. As an added benefit, they’re likely to attract stronger candidates than in years past. “Because so many people are out of work now, small business owners can take advantage of the legislation’s tax benefits while also being more selective about the people they hire,” Williams says.

Additional Microloan Funding

The stimulus package provides an additional $6 million to fund microloans this year, meaning companies who need to borrow smaller amounts of money (up to $35,000) have a better chance of securing the loan.

Access to this funding is important because the cost of hiring goes beyond paying an employee’s wages, notes Sherryl Baker, president of Baker Human Resources Consulting in Charlotte, North Carolina.  “Hiring also involves recruitment and training costs. Before we can see an increase in hiring numbers, small businesses will have to increase funding to cover those additional expenses,” she says.

Reduced SBA Loan Fees

The Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that minority- and women-owned businesses are three to five times more likely to receive an SBA-backed loan than a conventional bank loan. As part of the recovery act, the fees for this type of financing have been temporarily reduced.

In addition, the SBA is temporarily increasing the guarantee on some 7(a) loans up to 90%, making them less risky for banks. This should spur more lending.

The cost of this legislation will run into the billions of dollars, but officials say it’s necessary to help small businesses get back on their feet.  In a released statement, SBA acting administrator Darryl K. Hairston said:  “With these critical steps by SBA, and the Treasury Department’s commitment of up to $15 billion aimed at getting lending markets flowing again, we are standing up with small business owners across this country and telling them how we are going to put much-needed capital in their hands.”

Ability to “Carryback” Losses on Taxes

The legislation provides tax help for struggling companies, which may free up more money for hiring. Small businesses that have a net operating loss can carry back those losses for five prior years on their returns, instead of the customary two years. The provision applies to small enterprises that have gross revenue of up to $15 million.

Increased Funding for Local Projects

Money is being budgeted for various community initiatives, particularly in the areas of public construction and “green” science.  Related small businesses may be able to expand if they’re tied to these projects.  To find what funding is available in your geographic area, visit Recovery.gov.

Small businesses are responsible for employing about half of all workers in private industry.  If they’re hiring, then the economy can recover.

“We’ve asked a lot of the American people, a great deal of the American people, in supporting this effort,” Biden said at the meeting. “And so this is a different deal.  This is not your usual federal grant going to states.  And I want to be blunt with you, off-script here:  The fact of the matter is all that is legal is not acceptable.  Let me say it again.  Just because it may be legal, it is not acceptable — some of it.”

On Capitol Hill, the House small business committee also held a hearing on contracting and technology to explore contracting opportunities for small and veteran-owned businesses under the stimulus plan. Representatives from key federal agencies such as the Small Business Administration and the Department of Transportation are slated to testify about their efforts to ensure that these businesses receive their fair share of contracts. Entrepreneurs will also be given opportunities to share their issues and concerns.

Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Missouri), who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus’s economic recovery task force, will be watching closely to see what develops at each event. According to Cleaver, the CBC fought to ensure that agencies could not waive the use of disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs), a category under which many minority-owned businesses fall, as happened with TARP legislation. Contracts awarded under the stimulus plan must include minority and women contractors.

“There must be a DBE component for all contracts and we’re going to have the most stringent compliance of any piece of legislation in history. The FBI, inspectors general, and agency inspectors are going to be crawling all over these projects,” said Cleaver. “Anyone working in opposition of the written goals does so at their own peril.”

“Jessica’s Money Blog” is one example of a Website that touts fraudulent claims about receiving stimulus funds. (Source: Officialstimuluspayments.com)

Waiting for your cut from President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package?

Well, don’t hold your breath.

Since Obama signed the bill into law, sites such as OfficialStimulusPayments.com have been cropping up across the Web promising to expedite your stimulus check from the government.

But, there is no money being given out to individual taxpayers as part of Obama’s package. Instead, these companies are preying on unknowing and desperate individuals bilking them out of as little as $2 and as much as $1,000.

The Federal Trade Commission warned consumers last week that the promise of stimulus money in return for a fee or financial information is always a scam.

Shorty after Obama signed the plan last month, a crop of sites claiming to help consumer access their slice of the pie, sprouted up.

Unlike Bush’s economic stimulus which distributed $300 to $1,200 rebate checks to individuals and families in 2008, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will only funnel funds to state governments. Each state can apply for grant money to rebuild or strengthen its infrastructure. There are also a series of tax cuts for 95% of Americans. But for anyone not closely following Obama’s plan, it’s easy to assume the government will be cutting more checks for Americans.

Here’s how it works: An e-mail, online ad, or Website says you’re eligible to get an economic stimulus payment. You’ll either have to mail back a form or submit one online with your address, phone number, and sometimes credit card information. The message might appear to come from a rebate company or look like it’s straight from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the FTC says.

Other scams tell consumers that “their grant” is available for a small payment by credit card. But here’s the real gotcha! Hidden way down in the fine print of the agreement is your enrollment in a paid program. Consumers can expect to see several hundred or even $1,000 worth of charges on their credit cards. Yikes, talk about a de-stimulus plan.

In an investigation done by PC World, Financial Crisis Grant, one of the suspect companies, billed customers a monthly membership fee of $79.95, indefinitely. Here’s what the Better Business Bureau had to say about companies like Financial Crisis Grant: “In our experience, companies placing government grant ads have no affiliation with the government, but rather, are third parties offering information that can often be obtained for free from government agencies.”

One of the sites I came across, OfficialsStimulusPayments.com, directs users to “Jessica’s Money Blog,” and the first post reads, “How I got a $12,000 Check from the Government to Start My $5,000 a Month Business on Google.”  To receive the money, users must send in $1.99 for a “Free Grant Kit” and $3 to cover shipping of a Google Home Business Kit. Interestingly enough, after the FTC news conference last week, Jessica’s Money Blog was no longer accessible by its Web address Jessicasmoneyblog.com, according to the Los Angeles Times. Now, the site operates under a different Web address, with the same false information.

Another site, JasonGetsGrants.com, also promises to help you access $12,000 in government grants within 30 days. The friendly, conversational tone is quite convincing. The blog says, “Note: I hate all those ‘get rich quick’ schemes you see on TV where they tell you that you’re going to make thousands on real estate investing or some other crap…”

This is the same phrasing used on Jessica’s Money Blog. What’s more startling about the site is the missing time stamp on the user comments. This is at least a minor indication that the site may not be legit.

Some of the scams encourage you to click on links or open attached forms, which may be even worse than sending in money. Simply clicking the link or opening the document can install harmful software, like spyware, on your computer, leaving your personal information in the hands of an identity their, warns the FTC.

E-con artists are also guising themselves as the Internal Revenue Service, so watch out. If you get an unexpected email from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking you to call a number or email back personal information, forward it to phishing@irs.gov, then delete it without clicking on any links or opening any attachments. If you think you are the target of a scam, you also can file a complaint with the FTC.

If you think you’re eligible for a government grant, check out Grants.gov, an official government site with free information. And for more information about the economic stimulus package, visit Recovery.gov.

Remember, only sites ending in “.gov” are official government sites, so steer clear of someone offering any type of government money from a “.net,” “.info,” or “.com.”