Professor Chu’s Easy A

March 2, 2012

Energy Secretary Stephen Chu Thinks Solyndra Bankruptcy and Other Failed Stimulus Bets Earn Him an “A-” on Managing Taxpayer Money

Energy Secretary Stephen Chu yesterday bizarrely told a House committee that he deserved an “A–” for managing taxpayer money.
Chu’s self-assessment stands in stark relief to the bankruptcy of the Democrats’ stimulus poster child Solyndra, which lost millions in taxpayer dollars despite extensive efforts by the Obama administration to prop up the company.
Meanwhile, Solyndra’s siblings are facing similar financial struggles and losing taxpayer money in the process, and the Democrats’ green stimulus loan program has faced criticism for being infused with politics and lacking oversight. Apparently Democrats are grading themselves on a curve so they can get an easy A.

Energy Secretary Stephen Chu yesterday bizarrely told a House committee that he deserved an A– for managing taxpayer money:

ENERGY SECRETARY GIVES HIM SELF 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, 3/1/12)

Chu’s self-assessment stands in stark relief to the bankruptcy of the Democrats’ stimulus poster child Solyndra, which lost millions in taxpayer dollars despite extensive efforts by the Obama administration to prop up the company:

BUT JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO CHU TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR $535 MILLION OF TAXPAYER MONEY LOST ON SOLYNDRA: “Energy Secretary Steven Chu told lawmakers he was responsible for the $535 million U.S. loan guarantee to Solyndra LLC and said he doubted much of the money would be recovered after the company’s bankruptcy.” (Jim Snyder and Brian Wingfield, “Solyndra $535 Million Loan Mostly Lost to Taxpayers, Chu Tells Lawmakers,” Bloomberg, 3/2/2012)

DOCUMENTS SUGGEST ENERGY SEC. STEPHEN CHU PERSONALLY INTERVENED ON BEHALF OF SOLYNDRA: “House Republicans alleged Friday that Energy Secretary Steven Chu advocated for approval of a $1.4 billion partial loan guarantee for a rooftop solar project last year to boost the struggling solar panel maker Solyndra.” (Andrew Restuccia, “House GOP: Chu Pushed for Solar Loan to Help Solyndra,” The Hill, 2/17/2012)

SOLYNDRA CAUGHT RED-HANDED “DESTROYING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PARTS” DESPITE OWING TAXPAYERS NEARLY HALF A BILLION DOLLARS: (“Bankrupt Solyndra Caught Destroying New Parts,” CBS San Francisco, 1/19/2012)

WHY DOES A COMPANY THAT OWES TAXPAYERS MILLIONS THROW MILLIONS IN ASSETS IN THE TRASH?: “Solyndra paid at least $2 million for the specialized glass. A CBS 5 crew found one piece lying in the parking lot. Solyndra still owes the German company that made the tubes close to another $8 million.

“So why is a bankrupt company that owes a fortune to creditors, including American taxpayers, throwing away millions of dollars worth of assets?”(“Bankrupt Solyndra Caught Destroying New Parts,” CBS San Francisco, 1/19/2012)

Meanwhile, Solyndra’s siblings are facing similar financial struggles and losing taxpayer money in the process, and the Democrats’ green stimulus loan program has faced criticism for being infused with politics and lacking oversight. Apparently Democrats are grading themselves on a curve so they can get an easy A:

ENERGY DEPARTMENT CRITICIZED FOR LACK OF OVERSIGHT, LOST TAXPAYER DOLLARS:

“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)

A GROWING RECORD OF GREEN FAILURE:

“MORE SOLYNDRA-STYLE FAILURE: OBAMA-TIED AMONIX INC LAYS OFF MOST OF COMPANY”: (Neil Munro, “More Solyndra-Style Failure: Obama-Tied Amonix Inc Lays Off Most of Company,” The Daily Caller, 1/30/2012)

COMPANY LED BY OBAMA DONORS LAYING OFF 200 WORKERS DESPITE SPECIAL GREEN TAX CREDITS: “Some of President Barack Obama’s top donors and fundraising bundlers are partners in Amonix Inc., the latest Solyndra-like corporate crash. The company has announced a layoff of 200 workers — two-thirds of its workforce — despite a federal green-technology tax credit of $5.9 million in 2010.” (Neil Munro, “More Solyndra-Style Failure: Obama-Tied Amonix Inc Lays Off Most of Company,” The Daily Caller, 1/30/2012)

OOPS: OBAMA PUBLICLY PRAISED AMONIX AS AN EXAMPLE OF HIS GREEN STIMULUS EXTRAVAGANZA IN 2010: “Obama publicly lauded Amonix in 2010 as an example of a company deserving federal support and private-sector investment.” (Neil Munro, “More Solyndra-Style Failure: Obama-Tied Amonix Inc Lays Off Most of Company,” The Daily Caller, 1/30/2012)

ANOTHER STIMULUS-BACKED COMPANY HIGHLIGHTED BY OBAMA JUST ANNOUNCED PLANS TO LAY OFF 70 PERCENT OF ITS WORKFORCE:“President Obama used a weekly address in July 2010 to tout his stimulus package’s support for the solar industry. One of the companies he mentioned specifically, Abound Solar, just announced that it will lay off 70 percent of its workforce.” (Lachlan Markay, “Stimulus-Backed Solar Company Lays Off 70 Percent of Workforce,” Heritage’s Foundry Blog, 2/29/2012)

CRONY CAPITALISM AT STEPHEN CHU’S DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY?:

OBAMA’S “GREEN” PROGRAM “INFUSED WITH POLITICS AT EVERY LEVEL”:“Meant to create jobs and cut reliance on foreign oil, Obama’s green-technology program was infused with politics at every level, The Washington Post found in an analysis of thousands of memos, company records and internal e-mails. Political considerations were raised repeatedly by company investors, Energy Department bureaucrats and White House officials.

“The records, some previously unreported, show that when warned that financial disaster might lie ahead, the administration remained steadfast in its support for Solyndra.” (Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig, “Solyndra: Politics Infused Obama Energy Programs,” The Washington Post, 12/25/2011)

CRONY CAPITALISM? 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)

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)

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)