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Pro Publica: The village of Ouzinkie on Kodiak Island is one of the remotest outposts in the United States -- home to a mere 165 people. There are no stores, no gas stations and no stoplights. Yet the village will soon be home to a new $15 million airport paid for by taxpayers under the federal stimulus package. ... The FAA has now allocated all of its $1.1 billion in stimulus money for airport improvements. The biggest winners aren't the busiest airports.
Ouzinkie, Akiachak and Fort Yukon are each getting the maximum $15 million stimulus grant. By contrast, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport -- the busiest in the world -- hasn't received any stimulus money from the FAA. The FAA says politics aren't to blame for the inconsistency. The stimulus was designed to supplement infrastructure funding, not supplant it. Projects weren't eligible if they had already received money from federal, state or local governments, or from private sources such as landing fees.