Labor Dept. doles out millions for “green jobs” without knowing what a green job is
Byron York at the Washington Examiner reports that a staffer working for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R. Iowa) found this little tidbit in a Bureau of Labor Statistics notice dated March 16 - there is “no widely accepted standard definition of ‘green jobs.’” The staffer then looked back at some of the Labor Dept. announcements:
“U.S. Department of Labor Announces $100 Million in Green Jobs Training through Recovery Act
U.S. Department of Labor Announces $150 Million in “Pathways Out of Poverty” Training Grants for Green Jobs
U.S. Department of Labor Announces Nearly $190 Million in State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grants for Green Jobs”
But wait there’s more -
Sen. Grassley noted that ” The Revovery Act contains more than $80 billion in clean energy funding to promote economic recovery and develop clean energy jobs.”
So, the Labor Dept has no problem spending money on green jobs, but just can’t tell us what those green jobs are.
“A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money,” to quote the late Sen. Everett Dirksen.
Should we be shocked, shocked . . . or just depressed.
Further reading: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-03-16/pdf/2010-5705.pdf
Photo:
KJC
