Members of a federal interagency biofuel advisory committee have seen millions in taxpayer dollars funneled to their companies in grants and contracts since being appointed to the panel, an investigation by the Heritage Foundation has revealed.

The synergy between the committee’s membership and the financing decisions of the Energy and Agriculture departments, which lead the federal biofuel effort and whose representatives co-chair the committee, raise serious conflict of interest questions, and further fuel perceptions of insider dealing within the administration’s “green energy” push.