WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 18: U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) (C) speaks as House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) (R) and Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) listen during a news conference after a House Republican Conference meeting July 18, 2012 at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, DC. House Republicans continued to challenge the Obama Administration on the speed of job creations. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Paul Ryan has been one of the harshest critics of President Barack Obama's 2009 economic stimulus package. But that hasn't stopped the Wisconsin congressman from trying to help companies in his home state tap into the funds.
Ryan's actions in Congress are drawing fresh scrutiny since he was chosen as the running mate for GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
In 2009, Ryan wrote letters to the Energy and Labor departments seeking stimulus money for two Wisconsin energy conservation companies. One company later won a $20.3 million grant.
Ryan's efforts to help obtain the money stand in contrast to his public statements denigrating the stimulus program as a "wasteful spending spree."
A spokesman says Ryan doesn't believe a flawed policy should get in the way of helping his constituents.
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