The wide, weird world of stimulus

The Department of Energy is spending $3.3 million of stimulus funds on lawyers to support the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturers Loan Program.

It's not strange that lawyers are involved with stimulus -- government and corporate legal experts are working overtime behind the scenes on the massive spending bill. But the Energy Department program, which gives loans to auto manufacturers and parts suppliers to create new fuel-efficient vehicles, is the only program that has given private lawyers a specific stimulus contract.

The DOE said all the legal aid was need to support the processing of applications for the program.

"The legal companies ... provided their expertise for technical and financial review of the applications as well as for negotiations with the applicants who were chosen to receive loans," said Energy Department spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller.

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