Is Solyndra Obama’s Idea of an Economy “Built to Last”?

 Democrats Bizarrely Double Down on Programs Like Those That Gave Taxpayer Funds to Now-Bankrupt Companies Like Solyndra

• Democrats are using yet another slogan to push for new stimulus in President Obama’s latest budget proposal, making the counterintuitive claim that another spending spree on failed green programs like those that gave taxpayer dollars to Solyndra will create an economy “built to last.”
• The truth is that Democrats’ green stimulus spending binge was built on multiple conflicts of interests as venture capitalist Obama backers gained positions in the Department of Energy lending taxpayer money to their own industry. The result, unsurprisingly, was that many of their former firms’ own investments received additional taxpayer backing.
• This decision to gamble taxpayer money has had disappointing results, as the Democrats’ spending binge on companies like Solyndra has lost as much as $3 billion in taxpayer dollars, and the Democrats’ own inquiry into the loan program revealed insufficient oversight of the programs. Yet Democrats are insisting we “double down” on more of the same.

Democrats are using yet another slogan to push for new stimulus in President Obama’s latest budget proposal, making the counterintuitive claim that another spending spree on failed green programs like those that gave taxpayer dollars to Solyndra will create an economy “built to last”:

OBAMA DEFICIT SPEECH SAYS LATEST STIMULUS WILL BUILD ECONOMY “BUILT TO LAST”: “In the State of the Union, I outlined a blueprint for an economy that is built to last -– an economy built on new manufacturing, and new sources of energy, and new skills and education for the American people.”(“Remarks by the President on the Budget,” The White House, 2/13/2012)

STATE OF THE UNION REFERENCED “BUILT TO LAST” SLOGAN FIVE TIMES:(“Transcript: Obama Delivers State of the Union Speech,” CNN, 1/24/2012) 

OBAMA INSISTED HE WOULD “DOUBLE DOWN” ON GIVING TAXPAYER MONEY TO COMPANIES LIKE SOLYNDRA: “We’ve got to double down on the clean energy that’s creating jobs.” (“Remarks by the President on the Budget,” The White House, 2/13/2012)

AFTER HE USED STATE OF THE UNION TO EMBRACE HIS RECORD OF FAILURE ON “GREEN” PROGRAMS LIKE SOLYNDRA: “Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy.… It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable and double down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. Pass clean-energy tax credits.” (“Transcript: Obama Delivers State of the Union Speech,” CNN, 1/24/2012)

OBAMA’S RE-ELECT CAMPAIGN SIGNALS INTENTION TO RUN ON FAILURE, CELEBRATING NOW-BANKRUPT SOLYNDRA IN THEIR FIRST 2012 AD: “Don’t think Chicago is deeply concerned about the brand damage that the Solyndra semi-scandal can wreak? Of all President Obama’s vulnerabilities (Isn’t this race supposed to be about the economy?), Team Obama chose to attack Solyndra right out of the gate, placing Obama, literally, in a sea of solar panels, amid quotes proclaiming him to be cleaner than clean — wallowing in the future.”(Glenn Thrush, “Decoding Obama’s First Ad: S-O-L-Y-N-D-R-A,” Politico, 1/19/2012)

The truth is that Democrats’ green stimulus spending binge was built on multiple conflicts of interests as venture capitalist Obama backers gained positions in the Department of Energy lending taxpayer money to their own industry. The result, unsurprisingly, was that many of their former firms’ own investments received additional taxpayer backing:

“SEVERAL PLAYERS IN VENTURE CAPITAL” WHO BACKED OBAMA MOVED INTO OBAMA ENERGY DEPARTMENT IN 2009: “He was one of several players in venture capital, which was providing financial backing to start-up clean-tech companies, who moved into the Energy Department at a time when the agency was seeking outside expertise in the field.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012) 

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST? “INDUSTRY HAD A HUGE STAKE” IN WHICH FIRMS RECEIVED GOV’T SUPPORT: “At the same time, their industry had a huge stake in decisions about which companies would receive government loans, grants and support.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012) 

CRONY CAPITALISM QUESTIONS: WASHINGTON POST AUDIT FINDS $3.9 BILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY WENT TO “21 COMPANIES WITH CONNECTIONS TO FIVE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION STAFFERS AND ADVISERS”: “During the next three years, the department provided $2.4 billion in public funding to clean-energy companies in which Wagle’s former firm, Vantage Point Venture Partners, had invested, a Washington Post analysis found. Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,”The Washington Post, 2/14/2012) 

E-MAILS SHOW ADVISERS  WITH CONNECTIONS TO VENTURE FIRMS “INFORMALLY ADVOCATED” FOR COMPANIES THAT RECEIVED LOANS: “White House officials stress that staffers and advisers with venture capital ties did not make funding decisions related to these companies. But e-mails released in a congressional probe of Obama’s clean-tech program show that staff and advisers with links to venture firms informally advocated for some of those companies.”(Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012) 

BUNDLING FOR INFLUENCE? “VENTURE CAPITALISTS WHO HELD ADVISORY ROLES” WITH DOE “WERE GIVEN ACCESS TO OBAMA’S TOP ADVISERS”:“Thousands of agency and White House e-mails released as part of the Solyndra investigation show that venture capitalists who held advisory roles with the Energy Department were given access to Obama’s top advisers.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012) 

SUBTLE AND INAPPROPRIATE INFLUENCE LIKELY EXERCISED: “David Gold, a venture capitalist and critic of Obama’s investments in clean tech, said that even if staffers had been removed from the final decision-making, they had the kind of inside access to exert subtle influence.

“‘To believe those quiet conversations don’t happen in the hallways — about a project being in a certain congressman’s district or being associated with a significant presidential donor, is naive,’ said Gold, who once worked at the Office of Management and Budget. ‘When you’re putting this kind of pressure on an organization to make decisions on very big dollars, there’s increased likelihood that political connections will influence things.'” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

This decision to gamble taxpayer money has had disappointing results, as the Democrats’ spending binge on companies like Solyndra has lost as much as $3 billion in taxpayer dollars, and the Democrats’ own inquiry into the loan program revealed insufficient oversight of the programs. Yet Democrats are insisting we “double down” on more of the same:

“REPORT: ENERGY LOANS COULD COST $3B” FROM “HIGH-RISK” GREEN PROGRAMS: (“Report: Energy Loans Could Cost $3B,” Associated Press, 2/10/2012)

REPORT “ECHOES CRITICISM” THAT “OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SHOULD HAVE CUT OFF MONEY TO SOLYNDRA FAR SOONER THAN IT DID”: “The government could reduce its losses from the loan program if it withholds money from companies that fail to meet certain benchmarks, the report said. The comment echoes criticism by some Republicans in Congress who say the Obama administration should have cut off money to Solyndra far sooner than it did.”(“Report: Energy Loans Could Cost $3B,” Associated Press, 2/10/2012)

“SOLYNDRA: AUDIT FINDS LOAN PROGRAM LACKED OVERSIGHT”: (Neela Banerjee, “Solyndra: Audit Finds Program Lacked Oversight,” Los Angeles Times, 2/10/2012)

“FEW PROVISIONS FOR THOROUGH MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT OF THE LOAN GUARANTEES ONCE THEY WERE APPROVED”: “But the audit showed the laws passed from 2005 to 2009 that established the programs in question at the Energy Department had few provisions for thorough monitoring and oversight of the loan guarantees once they were approved. One program created in 2007 did not ‘provide any requirements regarding governance and monitoring of loans after closing.’

” ‘Neither the statutes nor the regulations governing the programs specify internal or external oversight or reporting requirements,’  the report concluded.”(Neela Banerjee, “Solyndra: Audit Finds Program Lacked Oversight,” Los Angeles Times, 2/10/2012)

WAS THIS IN DEMOCRATS’ AUDIT? SOLYNDRA SOLD ASSETS BELOW VALUE TO COMPANY’S BIGGEST INVESTORS FOR QUICK FUNDS: “Fast running out of money, solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC last summer sold off nearly $60 million worth of inventory for less than $20 million in cash to a newly formed corporate entity closely tied to the company’s biggest investors, records show.

“Backed by $535 million in federal loan guarantees but burning through the little cash it had left, Solyndra made its first sale in late July to a corporate entity that had been formed just a day earlier. Three more transactions followed over the next few weeks with the same buyer, Solyndra Solar II.” (Jim McElhatton, “Solyndra Sold Assets Cheap for Fast Cash,” The Washington Times, 2/8/2012) 

SOLYNDRA CAUGHT RED-HANDED “DESTROYING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PARTS” DESPITE OWING TAXPAYERS NEARLY HALF A BILLION DOLLARS: “After filing for bankruptcy last year, Fremont solar company Solyndra still owes American taxpayers half a billion dollars. But CBS 5 caught them destroying millions of dollars worth of parts.”

“At Solyndra’s sprawling complex in Fremont, workers in white jumpsuits were unwrapping brand new glass tubes used in solar panels last week. They are the latest, most cutting-edge solar technology, and they are being thrown into dumpsters.” (“Bankrupt Solyndra Caught Destroying New Parts,” CBS San Francisco, 1/19/2012) 

BUT WHITE HOUSE IS STILL NOT RELEASING ALL SOLYNDRA DOCUMENTS: (Jim Snyder, “House Republicans Press White House on Solyndra Documents,” Bloomberg, 2/9/2012)