Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (April 1, 2014) – Last week the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) released a new report profiling a former EPA staffer that was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for stealing over $900,00 in taxpayer money. John C. Beale was no ordinary EPA staffer; in fact, he was a senior policy advisor and highest-paid employee at the EPA by the time he resigned in April 2013. Before being sentenced, Beale admitted to taking months of paid time off by making colleagues believe that he was working for the CIA.

The report revealed that Beale was hired primarily due to his relationship with former college friend Robert Brenner. Brenner, who would later become the EPA’s deputy assistant administrator, disregarded the fact that Beale had no environmental, economic, or science experience when hiring his friend. Beale advanced quickly after joining the agency and led EPA’s internal process on National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in 1995. In 1997 NAAQS for Ozone and Particulate Matter were implemented despite being based on controversial “science” that still has not been made public.

The 1997 NAAQS were a turning point for environmental regulation as fine particulates became regulated for the first time. The EPA continues to rely upon this secret “science” to justify further Clean Air Act (CCA) regulations, including the closure of some power plants. Many regulations under the CCA have had devastating economic impacts, driving up electric bills for middle class families and causing the loss of high quality Americans jobs. The fact that these regulations were developed by a con man that had no experience with environmental issues prior to joining the EPA is not surprising.

Brenner’s lawyer, Justin Shur, said that “it’s sad that 30 years of public service would be reduced to this” when referring to Beale’s career. It takes real chutzpah to call defrauding taxpayers of $900,000 “public service.” Beale took ownership and used his leadership on the NAAQS to secure promotions while moving up the rungs of the EPA. The fact that Brenner and others within the EPA continue to defend Beale in order to protect the harsh regulations that he was responsible for warrants four bulls.

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