House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) reiterated his criticism of carbon offsets purchases, calling that part of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) “Green the Capitol” program a “waste of money.”

Boehner’s comments released in a statement Wednesday were in response to a statement released Tuesday by the House’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Dan Beard, who oversees the program.

Boehner had previously criticized the program in January. Later that month, two House Republicans called for an investigation into the program after reading about “questionable purchases” in media reports

As part of the “Green the Capitol” program to reduce the level of pollution created by members of Congress and make the House carbon-neutral by December 2008, the House purchased $89,000 in carbon offsets from the Chicago Climate Exchange, an offset brokerage company. The company then paid farms in the Midwest to take steps to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

“I think most American taxpayers would be outraged to learn that Dan Beard unilaterally wasted taxpayer dollars with no accountability whatsoever,” said Boehner’s spokesman Kevin Smith. “If the Speaker and other Democratic leaders signed off on this boondoggle, they should publicly say so.”

Before the CAO made the purchase, it was approved by Pelosi’s office and the Committee on Appropriations, which said in the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill that it “believes it is important to offset greenhouse gases generated by the House” and “requests the Chief Administrative Officer (to) purchase Carbon Financial Instruments to offset carbon produced by all House operations.”

Pelosi’s spokesman defended the purchases.

“The burgeoning carbon-offset market certainly leaves room for improvement, but in order for our more than 200-year-old Capitol Building to set an example and go green, we must be carbon neutral,” said Pelosi’s spokesman Drew Hammill. “The Speaker appreciates the bipartisan interest in this program and looks forward to any recommendations that may result from this increased attention.”

Two top House Republicans sent a letter last week to the Government Accountability Office seeking a closer look at the program after recent media criticism revealed that while in fact the farms were actively sequestering carbon, they may not have been abiding by what industry insiders refer to as “additionality.”

“Additionality” means that the money used to purchase offsets must provide an additional impact into reducing carbon in the environment and not merely fund an existing carbon reducing impact.

Beard’s office did not comment on Boehner’s statement.