Bellingham native 'greening' U.S. House

"Dan Beard plans to retire if Republicans win control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the mid-term elections.

It's the nature of his job - a nonpartisan post in a political teapot.

The 66-year-old Bellingham native is chief administrative officer of the House. As such, he oversees all non-legislative operations of the House complex, from issuing paychecks and handling computers for 10,500 workers, to turning 6 million square feet of office space into an environmental showcase. All on a $1.4 billion budget."