Democrat Dirty Laundry: Obama Touts Shady Loan Benefitting Kanjorski Family Bottomline

SPIN CYCLE: White House Pledged to Promote Transparency and Reduce Special Interest Influence in Washington

“Americans chose Barack Obama to be President of the United States to change the way Washington works. To do just that, on his first full day in office, the President signed two critical documents that have shaped the Administration: the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government and the Executive Order on Ethics. As a result of the Memorandum on Transparency, we have since Day One, worked to empower the public – through greater openness and new technologies – to influence the decisions that affect their lives. And as a result of the Ethics Order, we have since that same day worked to reduce special interest and lobbyist influence in Washington so the voices of the American people can be heard.” (“Fighting Against Special Interests and For the Public Interest: A Year of Change,” whitehouse.gov, 1/14/2010)

RINSE CYCLE: Obama Touts $400 Million Loan to Abound Solar in July 3 Radio Address

Northern Colorado’s Abound Solar will receive a $400 million federal loan guarantee that will allow the company to expand its manufacturing of thin-film solar panels and create thousands of jobs in Northern Colorado and Indiana, President Barack Obama announced this morning in his weekly broadcast address.

CSU Professor Walajabad Sampath, a co-founder of Abound who now has a limited role in the company, said the loan was more than a year in the works and that Energy Department officials last visited their Longmont facility in mid-May, where they were very optimistic about Abound receiving the loan guarantee.

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The stimulus funding is a “big deal” for Abound, considering the capital markets are frozen, Sampath said.

The federal loan guarantees, which come from the 2009 stimulus bill, help companies get access to capital from a financial sector that’s still reluctant to lend. The guarantees remove the risks for lenders.

“Without the loan guarantees, they would not be able to really move forward on this project,” said Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Fort Collins. “It’s seed money that’s going to be fully paid back by Abound.”

Markey said Abound submitted an application for the loan guarantees more than a year ago, and she and other members of the Colorado congressional delegation have been pushing the Department of Energy and White House to approve the proposal.

“It’s really exciting for Northern Colorado,” she said Friday, after being told of the loan guarantee by the White House but before the official announcement.(Robert Moore, “Obama announces Abound Solar growth; 3,500 jobs tied to Northern Colorado company’s expansion,” The Coloradoan, 7/3/2010)

“Coincidentally,” Kanjorski’s Nephew Employed at Same Firm Awarded $4 Million Federal Loan and $3 Million Federal Grant in 2008

The company that employs the nephew of U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski has received a $400 million guaranteed federal loan.

The same company, formerly called AVA Solar and now known as Abound Solar Manufacturing, received a $3 million federal grant in 2008.

The two federal awards and the Kanjorskis’ relationship have been called “coincidental” by the company. The Kanjorski campaign said the congressman played no role.

Lou Barletta, the Republican challenger to Kanjorski in the 11th Congressional District race, said, “I guess the Kanjorskis are just lucky.”

Russell Kanjorski – the congressman’s nephew — is vice president for marketing at Abound Solar, which is based in Loveland, Colo.
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According to the Abound Solar website, Russell Kanjorski joined the company in July 2007 and has almost 20 years of experience from multiple industries through his strategy consulting, finance and legal background. The company produces thin-film solar modules suited for large- and utility-scale commercial installations.

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“Only the federal government would give $400 million to a guy who already lost $10 million in taxpayers’ money the government gave him for another business that went bankrupt,” Barletta said. “Wherever they go, federal money follows.” (Bill O’Byle, “Kanjo Nephew Works At Firm That Gets Loan,” Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, 7/13/2010)

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