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WASHINGTON (AP) House Republicans on Wednesday questioned whether the White House rushed approval of a government loan guarantee for a solar panel manufacturer before a review was complete. The company has since filed for bankruptcy, leaving taxpayers on the hook for the $528 million loan.
Solyndra Inc. was a major presence in Washington and spent millions lobbying the federal government, particularly about the Energy Department's loan guarantee program. Its executives raised thousands of dollars for President Barack Obama and Democrats. Obama visited its Fremont, Calif., headquarters to highlight the kind of renewable energy companies worthy of economic stimulus money.
The congressional panel examining the loan disclosed emails that appeared to show senior staff at the Office of Management and Budget chafing about having to conduct "rushed approvals" of federal loan guarantees designed to help jumpstart the nation's renewable energy industry.
GOP lawmakers said a groundbreaking for Solyndra featuring Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled for September 2009, even before the Department of Energy had submitted its final paperwork on the terms of the OMB loan.
"We would prefer to have sufficient time to do our due diligence reviews and have the approval set the date for the announcement rather than the other way around," said one of the emails from unnamed OMB aide to Biden's office.
An AP review of Federal Election Commission records shows Solyndra executives have given to both Obama and Democratic-aligned groups. Ben Bierman, Solyndra's executive vice president, and Karen Alter, the firm's marketing vice president, contributed more than $3,500 to Obama's campaign. And one of the company's investors, George Kaiser, was a "bundler" for Obama's 2008 campaign, raising between $50,000 and $100,000 for the president, records show.
But Democrats also argued that it's not clear whether the company's financial woes were just a result of unforeseen market conditions or sloppy vetting or corporate malfeasance.
Democrats also said that failure to invest in the U.S. solar industry would amount to an economic death sentence that would allow other nations to dominate a growing business.
"If you live in reality, you know the world cannot continue its dependence on fossil fuels and that we are in danger of losing this industry to our competitors, especially China," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.
Your party man hack moral relativism is duly noted.9 Billion went missing in Iraq..and there is an entire chapter that was redacted from the 9/11 commission report concerning Saudi financing of the terrorists that slammed planes into US buildings.
But this..this is worthy of investigation.
Amazing.
9 Billion went missing in Iraq..and there is an entire chapter that was redacted from the 9/11 commission report concerning Saudi financing of the terrorists that slammed planes into US buildings.
But this..this is worthy of investigation.
Amazing.
9 Billion went missing in Iraq..and there is an entire chapter that was redacted from the 9/11 commission report concerning Saudi financing of the terrorists that slammed planes into US buildings.
But this..this is worthy of investigation.
Amazing.
