Stimulus Stunner: Dems Insist Solyndra Was a Job-Creator

July 30, 2012

Democrats’ Taxpayer-Funded Stimulus Website Still Advertises Solyndra as A Net Job-Creator Almost a Year After Company Went Bankrupt and Fired 1,100 Employees

The Democrats’ now-bankrupt stimulus poster child Solyndra just filed for bankruptcy reorganization, just the latest painful reminder of the disturbing failure of the Democrats’ stimulus spending spree.
Solyndra is bankrupt and fired 1,100 employees, but that hasn’t stopped Democrats from continuing to claim that the company was a job creator on their stimulus website and from fundraising with Solyndra’s biggest players.
As Democrats refuse to renounce their Solyndra failure, however, their other stimulus failures continue to grow.

The Democrats’ now-bankrupt stimulus poster child Solyndra just filed for bankruptcy reorganization, just the latest painful reminder of the disturbing failure of the Democrats’ stimulus spending spree:

“SOLYNDRA FILES CHAPTER 11 REORGANIZATION PLAN”: (“Solyndra Files Chapter 11 Reorganization Plan,” Reuters, 7/29/2012)

$535 MILLION LOST ON NOW-BANKRUPT SOLYNDRA: (Jim Snyder and Brian Wingfield, “Solyndra $535 Million Loan Guarantee Mostly Lost to Taxpayers, Chu Tells Lawmakers,” Bloomberg, 11/17/2011)

Solyndra is bankrupt and fired 1,100 employees, but that hasn’t stopped Democrats from continuing to claim that the company was a job creator on their stimulus website and from fundraising with Solyndra’s biggest players:

STIMULUS WEBSITE STILL PORTRAYS SOLYNDRA AS A NET JOB CREATOR: (“Estimated Jobs by Quarter,” Recovery.gov, Accessed 7/30/2012)

OMITTED: 1,100 EMPLOYEES WERE LAID OFF WHEN SOLYNDRA WENT BANKRUPT: (“Fremont-Based Solyndra Goes Bankrupt: 1,100 Workers Laid Off,” CBS San Francisco, 8/31/2011)

LAST WEEK: “OBAMA FUNDRAISES WITH PLAYERS IN SOLYNDRA SCANDAL”: “At an exclusive re-election fundraiser tonight, President Obama hobnobbed with 60 of his wealthiest supporters, including two figures at the center of the Solyndra loan controversy.” (Devin Dwyer, “Obama Fundraises With Players in Solyndra Scandal,” ABC News, 7/23/2012)

CAN’T MAKE IT UP: CENTRAL SOLYNDRA FIGURE “JUGGLED LEMONS”: “At the fundraiser Westly juggled lemons and entertained children.” (Darren Samuelsohn and Reid Epstein, “Steve Westly at Obama Fundraiser,” Politico, 7/23/2012)

DEMOCRATS HAVE REFUSED TO APOLOGIZE FOR THEIR SOLYNDRA DISASTER:

ENERGY AND COMMERCE RANKING DEMOCRAT HENRY WAXMAN (D-CA): SORRY I’M NOT SORRY ABOUT FUNDING SOLYNDRA: “I’m sorry Solyndra happened. We lost $500 million dollars. That’s a shame, but that’s why loan guarantees are provided. Because these are risky enterprises, and not all of them are going to succeed.” (Remarks from Henry Waxman, Energy and Commerce Hearing, 7/12/2012)

STIMULUS LOAN CHIEF: PROGRAM THAT FUNDED SOLYNDRA IS “AN ENORMOUS SUCCESS”: “Loan Chief Frantz: ‘Quite to the contrary, sir, I think it’s been an enormous success.’” (House Energy and Commerce Hearing, 7/12/2012)

OBAMA SAID STIMULUS WAS INTENDED TO “TAKE BETS” ON NOW-BANKRUPT COMPANIES LIKE SOLYNDRA: “But that’s exactly what the loan guarantee program was designed by Congress to do, was to take bets on these areas where we need to make sure that we’re maintaining our lead.” (“News Conference by the President,” The White House, 10/6/2011)

DEMOCRATS MAKING NO APOLOGIES FOR SOLYNDRA LOAN THAT LOST $535 MILLION IN TAXPAYER FUNDS: “Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Thursday declined an opportunity to issue a direct apology for Solyndra.” (Darren Samuelsohn, “Steven Chu: No Apologies on Solyndra,” Politico, 11/17/2011)

As Democrats refuse to renounce their Solyndra failure, however, their other stimulus failures continue to grow:

THE ATLANTIC: “ANOTHER SOLYNDRA IN THE MAKING?”: (Jordan Weissman, “Another Solyndra in the Making?”, The Atlantic, 7/9/2012)

A123 SYSTEMS RECEIVED $249 MILLION STIMULUS LOAN GRANT, NOW HAS ONLY FIVE MONTHS OF CASH LEFT: “On Friday, advanced battery maker A123 Systems, the recipient of a $249 million federal stimulus grant, informed investors that it had just five months worth of cash left to fund itself. While it’s a bit early to start administering last rites, the company’s situation is looking pretty funereal. A123’s share price is down to just about $1 from an all-time high of more than $25 in 2009. Management has plans to raise $39 million, in part by selling stock. But at least one analyst quoted by the Boston Globe believes they’ll need an infusion of at least $400 million over the next 18-months.” (Jordan Weissman, “Another Solyndra in the Making?”, The Atlantic, 7/9/2012)

THREE STIMULUS LOAN BENEFICIARIES HAVE ALREADY GONE BANKRUPT:

“ANOTHER SOLYNDRA? DOE LOAN RECIPIENT [ABOUND SOLAR] CLOSING”: (Andrew Restuccia, “Another Solyndra? DOE: Loan Recipient Closing,” Politico, 7/3/2012)

ABOUND SOLAR FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY AFTER GETTING $70 MILLION IN STIMULUS FUNDS: “A solar manufacturing company that received nearly $70 million from the Obama administration is shutting down and filing for bankruptcy protection, the Energy Department said Thursday.

“Abound Solar won approval in 2010 for a $400 million loan guarantee to aid construction of solar manufacturing facilities in Longmont, Colo., and Tipton, Ind. But amid growing problems for domestic solar panel manufacturers, the company began missing milestones laid out by the department in its loan guarantee agreement.” (Andrew Restuccia, “Another Solyndra? DOE: Loan Recipient Closing,” Politico, 7/3/2012)

“THE THIRD DOE-BACKED COMPANY TO DECLARE BANKRUPTCY”: “Abound is the third DOE-backed company to declare bankruptcy. The first was Solyndra last September. Beacon Power, an energy storage company, filed for bankruptcy protection the following month.” (Andrew Restuccia, “Another Solyndra? DOE: Loan Recipient Closing,” Politico, 7/3/2012)

BEACON POWER GOES BANKRUPT AFTER $43 MILLION OBAMA STIMULUS LOAN: (Tom Hals and Roberta Rampton, “Beacon Power Bankrupt; had U.S. backing like Solyndra,” Reuters, 10/31/2011)

OBAMA-BACKED AMONIX LAID OFF 200 WORKERS EARLY THIS YEAR, RECEIVED $5.9 MILLION TAX CREDIT IN 2010: (Neil Munro, “More Solyndra-Style Failure: Obama-tied Amonix Lays Off Most of Company,” The Daily Caller, 1/30/2012)

A LONG RECORD OF FAILURE:

OBAMA’S DOE LENT $14.5 BILLION OVER 27 PROJECTS, “TURNED A BLIND EYE TO THE RISKS THAT HAVE BEEN GLARINGLY APPARENT”: “By the expiration of § 1705 program in September 2011, the DOE had approved 27 projects totaling more than $14.5 billion in guaranteed loans. Inexplicably, DOE management has turned a blind eye to the risks that have been glaringly apparent since the inception of the program.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

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

PRICE TAG FOR FAILED STIMULUS: $831 BILLION: (“CBO’s Estimates of ARRA’s Economic Impact,” Congressional Budget Office, 2/22/2012)

“RATINGS AGENCIES FULLY INFORMED THE DOE” OF RISKS OF “EXCESSIVE GLOBAL COMPETITION”: “The ratings agencies fully informed the DOE of their expectations for falling panel prices due to excessive global competition.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

DOE SPENT TAXPAYER DOLLARS BACKING “MULTIPLE SOLAR” COMPANIES AND “ADDED TO A HEATED GLOBAL COMPETITION” THAT WAS “ALREADY CREATING AN EXCESSIVE SUPPLY OF SOLAR PANELS”: “DOE should have averted some of the risks it created in its portfolio by diversifying its investments across renewable energy technologies. DOE’s investment in multiple solar manufacturers added to a heated global competition that was already creating an excessive supply of solar panels. These manufacturers were forced to compete both against each other and other solar companies worldwide. As a result, the average selling price per watt for solar panels has continued its decline.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)