‘The Solyndra Saga: Obama Administration Put Taxpayers On Hook For Failed Venture’
Excerpts from The Chicago Tribune
Editorial
“We know the Obama administration can't get enough of renewable energy. We know it can't get enough of "shovel-ready" projects for soaking up its taxpayer-funded economic stimulus handouts. Now a colossal green stimulus failure has put Democrats on the defensive and raised the prospect of an ugly scandal.
“Solyndra Inc. was a California-based maker of advanced solar panels. Its executives talked a good game, and the company attracted substantial private investment …
“[Now,] Solyndra is bankrupt, its factory shut down and its workforce on the street. The FBI raided its headquarters earlier this month, presumably suspecting fraud …
“A series of emails between White House officials and Office of Management and Budget watchdogs suggests that Solyndra got its federal guarantees prematurely, under pressure from the Obama administration, which wanted to stage an event featuring Vice President Joe Biden announcing the guarantees at a ground-breaking ceremony. A perfect example of shovel-ready stimulus!
“But staffers reviewing the deal were voicing concerns about not having sufficient time to conduct proper due diligence on the financial underpinnings of the loans. The evidence suggests taxpayer dollars were put at undue risk for the sake of an administration photo op …
“The White House claims its communication about the project reflected merely a "quite active interest" in the outcome. Yet those explanations ring hollow in light of OMB emails referring to "rushed approvals" and "time pressure." As one note said, "There isn't time to negotiate."
“No time to negotiate on behalf of the taxpayer? That's maddening.
“There are a lot of questions around this deal. At least one investor in it was a prominent Obama fundraiser …
“Public investments … must be based on due diligence. Not big money politics. Not stimulus rollout timetables. Not sun-struck ideology …
Source: RNC
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