Gregory H. Friedman, the inspector general of the Department of Energy, released an audit disclosing a major delay in spending the economic stimulus package that Congress voted for in February 2009.

Energy Department officials say most of the stimulus money has been committed, but jobs and commitments are not the same.While the purpose of the package was to provide jobs and promote energy efficiency by providing better lighting, cooling and heating in buildings, only a mere 8.4 percent of the $3.2 billion package was spent.

New York City spent less than 2 percent of its $80.8 million award and Chicago spent 0.1 percent of its $27.6 million award.

The report concludes that a lack of regulations and staff to process applications is largely to blame. In some cases, multiple levels of approvals and the need for environmental reviews has stalled the process. As a result, the Department of Energy has withdrawn a requirement that projects get federal approval; states can now approve contracts directly.

Although the Department of Energy has said a considerable amount of the unspent money has been committed to projects, the inspector general told the New York Times that "a plan to hire is not as good as an actual job."