[FlingWingFlyer]

A BIG oil painting of the BIG EPA “chief”. That sounds weird.

[Doogle]

"...we got off lucky, her portrait could fill the side of a semi"

[G Larry]

Keep the painting, fire the Chief!

[Westbrook]

Rather than oil, the medium I prefer for these petty tyrants is a liberal application of tar followed by a few bucketloads of goose feathers.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

EPA wallahs release costly document describing their fat wad against America.

[dennisw]

I am sure same happened under Republican administration. Just more examples how the Federale Gov’t is huge welfare program for the people working in it and the contractors like like this painter. Sure we need a Federal Gov’t but half of the Federales could be fired and it would function more efficiently. There is no doubt that some Federale agencies are affirmative action hiring halls....the Dept of Education and the EEOC are just for starters.

IOW the Federale Gov’t exists to benefit its employees. This is its primary mission. And its “workers” skew heavily liberal, gay, minority, female and liberal. The Department of Defense and our military would be an exception

[PGR88]

Where will they hang all the portraits when the EPA is eliminated?

[jospehm20]

I guess $41k is what it takes to get somebody to look at butt-ugly Lisa Jackson long enough to paint it?

[silverleaf]

I am the type of human being who would be horrified and embarrassed to have so much govt money spent on a portrait of me

especially when my agency was in the business of putting so many taxpayers out of work

Until we get decent honorable people with a sense of moral decency in govt, we are doomed

[Obadiah]

Of course it cost $40k. Do you have any idea how many countless manhours had to go into trying to make this painting look good??

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

:: The price tag for a 3-by-4-foot oil portrait of Agriculture Department Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack: $22,500. ::

With an extra $5,000.00 for the Pooh Bear!

[q_an_a]

where did they get authorization for this expense? Did the congress pass a budget to allow it? NO!!! And they have not held anyone accountable for the crap spending by the VA in Orlando, judges in 9th curcuit going to Hawaii, and many other luxuries for the government while the rest of the country - the tax payers are on the tight budget caused by a five year recession.

Want to help America make republicans try to make the size of government smaller by making government effective. A nice photo would have been a start - not a $40,000 painting, not for the EPA, the VP, The secty Defense etc. etc. Make government work !! I do !!

[BlatherNaut]

Who do these people think they are, noblemen?

The Founders were affronted by the King’s tea tax, and yet here we are today paying enormous sums for the portraits of self-serving federal “aristocrats”.

[Captain7seas]

WOW! I wonder if Lisa approved the $40,000 expenditure on her SECRET private e-mail account that she was using to conduct bidness?