Decades later, my dad and I can laugh about this story, but only because he was able to step up and pay for the repair, and I did indeed make good on payday.

But they’re not laughing about this on Capitol Hill. At least five states took federal money to build Obamacare state exchanges, then had to close or abandon the exchanges when they failed to work. And now, as some of the contractors responsible for those failures are being forced to make good, the states want some of that money.

Oregon is right now paying $650 per hour to a law firm with connections to former Gov. John Kitzhaber, who resigned in disgrace partially over the state’s health exchange debacle, to pursue a lawsuit against Oracle its own attorneys say it has little chance of winning. Why? Because Oregon thinks it can get some of those dollars should they start to flow.

Maryland failed so badly at its attempt to establish an exchange that Democrat Anthony Brown, who presided over the project as lieutenant governor under now-presidential candidate Martin O’Malley, lost his bid to become governor in a state that is 2:1 Democrat. But now, Maryland has reached an out-of-court settlement with its contractor that will net $125 million, of which the state is set to receive some proceeds.