Much stimulus money remains unspent

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Billions of dollars in stimulus funding remains unspent and Americans are wondering why, a report says.

Some cities hit hardest by recession-caused unemployment have hardly touched millions of dollars in stimulus funds, The Washington Post said Saturday.

Detroit, with 14 percent unemployment, had spent just 1 percent of its nearly $9 million in stimulus funds by June 30, and Phoenix has spent even less of its $15 million, the report said.

At the end of July, almost 18 months after the stimulus was approved, more than half of $275 billion for infrastructure improvements and healthcare remains unspent, the Post said.

However, officials said the spending is on track, and that 70 percent of the stimulus money will be spent by the end of September.

"Some stuff is taking a longer time to have an impact. … the fact that we still have dollars coming online now should not be seen as a negative," John Irons of the Economic Policy Institute, said in the report.