Jobless women land Argonne jobs with government help

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By Sandra Guy
May 17, 2010

Argonne National Lab has received $187 million in Recovery Act funding since March 2009. Among the 166 employees it hired or retained with that money are Pat Dalton and Laney Callahan, both of whom were out of work.

Pat Dalton describes herself as a longtime skeptic of government spending, so imagine her surprise when she found a job funded by President Obama's Recovery Act stimulus program.

Dalton's senior-buyer position at Argonne National Laboratory's science and research division is funded for one year, with the potential of being extended into a second year.

The job has provided Dalton another surprise: She gets a bird's-eye view of how the federal stimulus money is spent. "As a taxpayer, you have the impression it's a blank check, so I was just delighted to see how carefully these funds are handled," said Dalton, who helps buy everything from motors and pumps to fiberglass tanks that scientists use in their work.

She has also been impressed by the Recovery Act's emphasis on buying American-made products and helping small businesses.

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