Politics | Paul Ryan Ryan: I Asked for Stimulus Money by Accident VP candidate has repeatedly denied asking for funds for Wisconsin businesses By Kevin Spak Posted Aug 17, 2012 7:13 AM CDT Copied Paul Ryan listens to the crowd response during his speech at a campaign stop at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, Aug. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Phil Long) Paul Ryan has repeatedly denied that he requested funds for Wisconsin businesses from Barack Obama's signature stimulus bill, despite documented evidence to the contrary. Yesterday he finally admitted he had—but said he hadn't realized he was doing it. Ryan's stimulating ways first came to light in a 2010 Wall Street Journal report. In an interview at the time, Ryan said he wouldn't vote against something "then write to the government to ask them to send us money." But the Boston Globe reported this week that Ryan did just that, sending at least four letters to the Department of Energy on behalf of two Wisconsin companies looking to develop "green jobs." Ryan again denied those reports yesterday, before finally backtracking with a statement saying the requests were "treated as constituent service requests," according to the New York Times. "This is why I didn't recall the letters earlier. But they should have been handled differently." Ryan still insists, however, that the stimulus didn't boost the economy. Read These Next Sienna proves herself to be a very, very good dog. Three hikers jumped into a waterfall and never resurfaced. America has lost a '60s teen idol. Millions of student loan borrowers could see their paychecks docked. Report an error