Report: Ryan asked Obama administration for stimulus dollars

GOP vice-presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) sent at least four letters to the Obama administration in 2009 asking for stimulus dollars for energy conservation groups in Wisconsin, according to the Boston Globe.

Ryan was denouncing — and voting against — the administration's stimulus plan at around the same time he penned the letters to Energy Secretary Steven Chu. His advocacy helped a pair of Wisconsin environmental firms secure funding, including a $20 million grant for a group that performs energy efficiency upgrades.

The request for stimulus dollars appear to conflict with Ryan's energy rhetoric, which has come under increased scrutiny since Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney selected him as his running mate.

Ryan has strongly opposed President Obama’s clean-energy initiatives, sought to rein in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), advocated for expanded oil-and-gas drilling and denounced government intervention in the energy technology marketplace.

Notes the Globe:

Ryan’s support for the the initiatives he championed for Wisconsin is not reflected in his budget plan passed by the House earlier this year.

That plan, which did not pass the Senate, would cut the Department of Energy’s discretionary budget from roughly $8 billion annually to $1 billion. Over a decade the proposal would cut nearly $100 billion from electric vehicle and other energy efficiency programs.

The Romney campaign referred E2-Wire to a statement from Ryan's office when asked for comment: "If Congressman Ryan is asked to help a Wisconsin entity applying for existing Federal grant funds, he does not believe flawed policy should get in the way of doing his job and providing a legitimate constituent service to his employers."