Dems Sorry They’re Not Sorry About Solyndra and Other Stimulus Failures

The List of Democrats’ Stimulus Failures Keeps Getting Longer

• In a stunning refusal to admit what has been an obvious failure, Democrats today brazenly declared the stimulus program that funded Solyndra and other failing companies “an enormous success.”  
• Three solar companies funded by Democrats’ stimulus loan program have already gone bankrupt, and a recent report suggests more may be on the way.
• Sadly, the significant risks of these taxpayer-funded loans were known all along, and the Obama stimulus loans may have actually contributed to these companies’ failures.

In a stunning refusal to admit what has been an obvious failure, Democrats today brazenly declared the stimulus program that funded Solyndra and other failing companies “an enormous success”:

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) 

ENERGY SECRETARY STEPHEN CHU GAVE HIMSELF AN A MINUS FOR BANKRUPTCY: REP. PAUL BROUN (R-GA): “What grade would you say you deserve for your management of the DOE resources over the last three years?” ENERGY SECRETARY STEVEN CHU: “Well I would give myself a pretty good grade because if you look at what we’ve done, and what we’ve supported, and the breakthroughs that have occurred during this tenure, I think it speaks very well. As I said before, that battery research has been going extremely well, way ahead of what we thought was the schedule. We’re very focused on a lot of the good technologies on solar technologies, and as another example, the bioenergy, the bioenergy centers that which were started under the previous administration have done extremely well and we’re continuing funding those. A lot of the inventions and technologies are now being licensed by companies and they’re entering into pilot production. So there are many successes in the technologies that the Department of Energy has supported and the private sector, American industry, are picking up these technologies.” BROUN: “So what grade would you give yourself?” CHU: “Oh -” BROUN: “A to F, what grade would you give yourself?” CHU: ” There’s always room for improvement, maybe an A-.” (Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Committee On Science, Space, And Technology, U.S. House Of Representatives, Testimony, 3/1/2012)

Three solar companies funded by Democrats’ stimulus loan program have already gone bankrupt, and a recent report suggests more may be on the way:

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)

$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)

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)

Sadly, the significant risks of these taxpayer-funded loans were known all along, and the Obama stimulus loans may have actually contributed to these companies’ failures:

EXPERTS: COLLAPSE “NOT SURPRISING AT ALL”: “ ‘This is not surprising at all,’ Anthony Kim, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in New York, said in an interview. ‘They were trying to sell to a competitive, over- supplied market with limited production. That keeps costs high.’” (Christopher Martin and Jim Snyder, “Abound Failure Revives Debate Over Obama Solar Policies,” Bloomberg, 6/29/2012)

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)

CRONY CAPITALISM?:

STIMULUS CRONY CAPITALISM? WASHINGTON POST AUDIT FOUND $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)

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)

DOE EMPLOYEE USED PRIVATE E-MAIL TO SEND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION TO A COMPANY THAT GOT A $1.4 BILLION LOAN GUARANTEE: “An Energy Department employee used a private email address to send confidential information to a company that went on to get a $1.4 billion partial loan guarantee from the agency, according to one of a series of documents that House Republicans plan to highlight Tuesday.” (Andrew Restuccia, “Panel Unveiling Docs on DOE Aid Recipients,” Politico, 6/19/2012)