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In October, CNS News chronicled the distribution of the nearly $2 million dollars that went to 76 community organizations in 2010, alleging that some of the grants ended up in the coffers of “far-left groups.”

The Hill reported on Monday that House Republicans have introduced a bill to eliminate yet another program devoted to environmental justice, called the Environmental Justice eco-Ambassador Program.

“At a time when millions of Americans cannot find work and are saddled with record deficits and crippling environmental regulations, spending $6,000 of taxpayer money per student to act as tools of this administration’s radical policies is clearly not acceptable — nor is it ever the role of the federal government to indoctrinate,” said the legislation’s sponsor Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo.

According to Judicial Watch, under Jackson’s tenure, the EPA’s budget has increased 34 percent (to $10.3 billion) with almost 50 percent of funds being distributed to state environmental programs, nonprofits and educational organization.

Judicial Watch has been one of the most vocal critics of the EPA’s use of taxpayer money for environmental justice. The group’s president, Tom Fitton told TheDC that the EPA is engaged in a “racket,” funding left-wing groups under the auspices of environmental justice.

“Whatever the specifics of the grant are almost irrelevant to the principle of keeping the left-wing infrastructure alive to provide support for the President’s programs and his reelection, and the reelection of other liberal allies of these groups,” he said.

Nevertheless, environmental justice will remain an integral part of this administration’s governance.

“In the years ahead, I want to see a full-scale revitalization of what we do and how we think about environmental justice,” Jackson said in a 2009 speech before the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, “This is not an issue we can afford to relegate to the margins. It has to be part of our thinking in every decision we make. And not just at EPA. We need the nonprofit sector. We need the academic sector. And we need the private sector. It’s absolutely essential that we have a wide range of voices raising these issues.”

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