RNC Chairman Priebus Responds To Latest Solyndra Development

By Matt Sauvage

WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus made the following comments today on a conference call with reporters regarding the latest development in the ongoing Solyndra scandal which revealed that President Obama had been previously warned of the risks associated with the $535 million loan to the now-bankrupt green firm:

“Now I know we’re all gathered here to talk about Obama’s latest campaign stop here in Colorado, but I wanted to take one second before I get to those issues to talk about another story that came out just this morning. And I think some of you may have seen that the LA Times is out with a story that now details that President Obama was clearly warned by top advisors about the potential financial risk of the Solyndra loan program. The same loan program that we now know gave Solyndra a half a billion dollars in taxpayer money.

“The President’s been silent about this debacle so far but with this news, I think that it’s time for President Obama to do what he does best, which is to start talking. He owes the American people an explanation of how he’s going to get their money back and how he’ll prevent it from happening again in yet another failed Stimulus 2.0 attempt that he’s trying to sell in Denver today.”

To listen to the full audio visit http://www.gop.com/audio/09.27.2011_colorado.mp3

BACKGROUND

•Obama Advisors Raised Warning Flags Before Solyndra Bankruptcy: “Long before the politically connected California solar firm Solyndra went bankrupt, President Obama was warned by his top economic advisors about the financial and political risks of the Energy Department loan guarantee program that boosted the company's rapid ascent. At a White House meeting in late October, Lawrence H. Summers, then director of the National Economic Council, and Timothy F. Geithner, the Treasury secretary, expressed concerns that the selection process for federal loan guarantees wasn't rigorous enough and raised the risk that funds could be going to the wrong companies, including ones that didn't need the help.” (Tom Hamburger, Kim Geiger and Matea Gold, “Obama Advisors Raised Warning Flags Before Solyndra Bankruptcy,” Los Angeles Times, 9/27/11)