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Falk joins Biden on economic conference call

County executive tells vice president about local projects

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk was one of six officials from local governments across the nation chosen to participate in a teleconference with Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday morning.

The conference call’s purpose was to discuss the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which has provided funding to each state for job creation and infrastructure improvements.

” County Executive Falk said the vice president was very warm, very engaging and receptive,” Falk spokesperson Joshua Wescott said. “She feels he’s doing this outreach because he genuinely wants to know what’s going on and what can be bettered.”

During their conversation, Falk and Biden discussed the green-energy jobs being created in Wisconsin, specifically cow-power initiative farms that utilize digesters to turn manure into energy, Wescott added.

“[Biden] had never heard of anything like it before and thought it was a pretty cool idea,” Wescott said.

Wescott added while Falk did not ask for additional funding, she asked the vice president to reconsider the guidelines for the allocation of Community Development Block Grant dollars.

Currently there are very specific guidelines for the usage of this money. The funds are to be used primarily to help with infrastructure and public building projects, Wescott said, adding Falk asked Biden to consider making those funds available for foreclosure assistance.

“The vice president was very receptive to this suggestion and promised he would follow up with us in the future. So we anxiously await to see if we can use those funds eligible to us,” Wescott said.

The county has more than $2 million in stimulus money allotted to conservation projects, according to Wescott, adding bridge projects across Dane have been fully funded. Additionally, projects in the works, including building a new nursing home in Verona, are expected to provide at least 200 local jobs.

According to a White House press official, Biden placed these calls to find out how stimulus money is being implemented in each state. He is also interested in seeing what steps Wisconsin is taking to increase infrastructure by creating jobs and projects that will better the welfare of the state.

The official added Biden has been put in charge of overseeing the use of stimulus dollars and telephone calls with local level government officials are a way for him to make sure everything is running smoothly on the local level of government.

Biden has been placing these 30-minute calls weekly since March, shortly after the act was signed, according to the official.

Jay Carney, communications director for the vice president, said Biden makes two conference calls each week: one to state governors, and another to county executives and other local officials.

“The calls are a source of free-flowing, off the record information,” Carney said. “It allows the vice president to see how things are going with the stimulus and creates a roundtable for discussion.”