Treasury: Federal greening saves taxpayer dollars

On this Earth Day, the Treasury Department is touting its ability to go green as a win for taxpayers as well. 

Dan Tangherlini, an assistant Treasury secretary, noted the department had received green ratings across the board on an administration-developed scorecard on clean energy. He cited data from the Office of Management and Budget and the White House Council on Economic Quality that says those sorts of efforts can save the public money.

“OMB and CEQ estimate that keeping federal agencies on track to meet the scorecard’s energy and greenhouse gas performance standards should reduce the cost of government by a cumulative total of $8 to $11 Billion by 2020,” Tangherlini wrote on the department’s blog. 

(For the record, Treasury especially touted its ability to reduce petroleum and potable water use.)

The department’s comments came as President Obama called for the U.S. to be a leader on clean energy and climate change.

But a push for major climate-change legislation fizzled last year, and Republicans on Capitol Hill have targeted the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases in recent months.