Editorial: You just have to ask

The much-maligned American Recovery and Reinvestment Act approved by Congress last year set aside $5 billion in welfare funding, but much of the money hasn't been tapped.

Pennsylvania is eligible for $359.7 million; New Jersey is eligible for $202 million. But each state so far has used only a fraction of that money. The deadline for using the funds is Sept. 30.

With so many people out of work and hurting, officials in Harrisburg and Trenton need to work harder to make sure their states apply for available stimulus money from Washington to create local jobs.

Pennsylvania officials at the Departments of Public Welfare and Labor & Industry are working on a proposal to obtain more of the funding, but the plan isn't ready yet. New Jersey officials, too, say plans are under way to use the state's allotted share. They need to show more urgency.

Unemployment in the region remains high, and this pot of money can help low-income populations that need it most. Anyone with an income level of 200 percent of poverty can qualify for the aid.

The Philadelphia Unemployment Project, for example, has drafted a proposal to use $228 million in federal funds to create up to 10,000 full-time jobs for a year. Workers could be placed in social-service agencies, libraries, schools, state parks, or in the private sector, where their salaries would be fully subsidized for six months.

"If there's the will, it could certainly be done in a short amount of time," said John Dodds, director of PUP. "We've got to get up and going with it."

The federal stimulus aid is contingent on a 20 percent match from the states. But cash-strapped states don't necessarily need to spend money from their treasuries on the program; they can provide in-kind services from current government workers to coordinate the jobs program.

The federal government has already appropriated the money, and the need locally is great. The states need to make sure they don't leave this aid on the table.