In his July 27th report on the success or failure of the stimulus bill, the AP’s Bruce Schreiner lays out the pros and cons of the stimulus bill, predominately voiced by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell. What Schreiner misrepresents, however, was the true cost of the stimulus package signed into law last year by President Obama. Schreiner writes, “Pelosi credited last year’s $787 billion stimulus package, passed over deep Republican objections, with creating or saving as many as 3.6 million jobs so far.”

As it’s been pointed out several times on Media Malpractice, the true cost of the stimulus bill is now $862 billion according to the latest Congressional Budget Office estimates. This $75 billion mistake (nearly a 10% increase from the original cost estimate) should not go unnoticed.

Recent Bloomberg, ABC News and even Schreiner’s colleague at the Associated Press all used the correct $862 billion figure. The revised number is now over seven months old. It’s time for Schreiner and other reporters stuck on $787 billion to revise their work.