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Green Pork Update: Beard's "Waste of Taxpayer Dollars" Now Under Examination by Government Auditors
Beard Says Wasteful Purchases OK, but Then Says Congress Should Pass Legislation to Address Problem

Last year, Daniel Beard – Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) hand-picked appointee as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the House – cut an $89,000 check out of the taxpayers’ checkbook to buy “carbon credits” from the Chicago Climate Exchange. It’s a practice that has been compared to the old notion of the notion from the Middle Ages of buying “indulgences,” and for good reason – it accomplishes nothing, but makes you feel good about yourself.

But the Washington Post reported that Beard’s decision was a “waste of taxpayer money,” according to the liberal group Center for American Progress:

“‘It didn’t change much behavior that wasn’t going to happen anyway,’ said Joseph Romm, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who writes a blog calling for more aggressive action on climate change. ‘It just, I think, demonstrated why offsets are controversial and possibly pointless. . . . This is a waste of taxpayer money.’”

Last week, Energy & Commerce Committee Ranking Republican Joe Barton (R-TX) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Republican John Shimkus (R-Ill) asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the questionable use of taxpayer dollars to fund the boondoggle:

“‘Without transparency, honesty and reliable evidence of effectiveness, the programs seem poised to betray purchasers’ good intentions,’ Barton and Shimkus wrote. ‘As you know, not only do the individuals making these purchases risk being duped, but taxpayers are at risk as well – as government bodies at all levels respond to ‘green’ marketing pitches.’”

Now Beard himself says he “welcomes” the investigation by GAO and the Federal Trade Commission. Faced with evidence his carbon offset purchases went to waste, Beard says – according to The Hill – that he “stands by” the purchases, but maybe Congress should “pass legislation” to address the problem. Huh?