European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 29, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 6 the stars and strikes Friday january 29,1988 minority Aid Agency wins proxy re fleece _. _ _ r. I i i _ i a. In acini Narinn of for Trinh Thryl let Niit Lintt 10 or a a Federal Agency charged with doling out funds to promote minority business is the january recipient of sen. William prox Mirc s Golden fleece award. Prox Mirc said wednesday. The minority business development Agency was singled oui by the Wisconsin Democrat As having wasted j40q.doo in taxpayer Money to Back inc lower Rio Grande conference of mayors which spent virtually All inc Money on overhead. In May 1986. The Commerce department s inspector general issued a nigh by critical report of the project and strongly recommended no further fund ing said pro Mirc Wobu chairs the Senate banking committee. According to the report Only pan of the initial focus of the conference related even indirectly to minority business Enterprise. Most of inc Effort and funding went into the overhead costs of setting up the conference and into general Community the conference of mayor was Cre ated in August 1934 and one month later received the first of two $200,000 non competitive demonstration Grants from the Federal Agency. Hector Deleon a spokesman for the Agency said inc project was funded be cause the Rio Grande Valley is one of the poorest sections of the United states and needs All the help it can gel. The intention of the project was to stimulate some economic development in that area Delcon addition the Agency s director . Richardson Gonzalez is from Austin and so has a special knowledge of the area and cares for in a great Deal said Delcon another texan from Rio Grande Ana is economically devastated. It severely hit by the devaluation of the Delcon said. The in Chi was to stimulate economic development and enhance the Prospect for minority Busi Nesses. That is Neof the poorest ans not Only in Tjas but pro Mirc said officials at the minority business Agency ignored the inspector general s report and granted another1200,000 despite documentation that the second grand duplicated services already provided by the Agency and other com Merce department agencies. Finally the auditors questioned the appropriateness of funding a project a major purpose of which would be to generate applications to other Federal agencies for additional taste " pros mire said in a press release. Disregard ing the detailed warnings Abda awarded the second Grant which ran until july 1987." an interim audit in april 1987 found that in addition to producing minimal results inc conference was in terrible financial shape. The organization was More than $47,000 in debt including $4,400 owed to the internal Revenue service for overdue payroll taxes. The Federal Grant Money could not be used to pay off die irs debt Pruni Mirc said the Midi uns concluded that it was doubtful that the conference could cod Tine to function without significant non Federal funding. Once Agun the in Spector Central s report recommended the Abda not renew the Grant he said. Finally after wasting 1400,000 of Lau payers Money the Abda Cut off funding and without another handout from Uncle sugar in
