VP Gore’s “Town Meeting” Is Mostly Government, Not Much Town: EPA Spends Taxpayer Money to Honor Grant Recipients, Its

Washington, DC, May 3, 1999 – “Organizers of the National Town Meeting for a Sustainable America, meeting this week in Detroit, MI, describe it as an event ‘dedicated to promoting how people can work together to create livable communities and a healthy environment.’ Far from being a grassroots affair, however, the NTM is by, for, and about the government,” commented CEI analyst James Sheehan. “Included in the list of ‘community projects’ receiving National Awards for Sustainability from the President’s Council on Sustainable Development are several federal agencies, state governments and federally funded programs.”

“These award winners are leading the way in building livable communities for the 21st century,” applauds EPA Administrator Carol Browner. She should know, since her agency is using taxpayer dollars to finance some of these very award winners.

For example, Sheehan noted, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (Berkeley, CA) was recognized for peddling global warming activism in cities throughout the country. The group is paid to undertake these activities by a $1.4 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Another surprise winner of the award is…the EPA itself. The Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is a program of the EPA’s Office of Outreach and Special Projects. “This must be what Al Gore considers environmental stewardship,” stated Sheehan, “taxing the American public to hold conferences that honor the people who distribute and receive government grants.”

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