Obama “Knows Personally About Our Deal”

From ObamaCare to Solyndra, Democrats’ Crony Capitalism and Backroom Deals with Special Interests Have Produced a Pattern of Failure

• The Obama administration’s backroom deals with special interests to pass ObamaCare continue to shock and amaze for how Democrats traded policy provisions for a special-interest funded ad campaign to sell ObamaCare to an American public that didn’t want the law.
• From ObamaCare to Solyndra, the Democrats have repeatedly resorted to crony capitalism with consistently disastrous results for taxpayers and working families.
• These unfair backroom deals with special interests appear to be standard procedure despite Obama’s promises that his administration would be “the most open and transparent in history.”

The Obama administration’s backroom deals with special interests to pass ObamaCare continue to shock and amaze for how Democrats traded policy provisions for a special-interest funded ad campaign to sell ObamaCare to an American public that didn’t want the law:

PhRMA LOBBYIST: OBAMA “KNOWS PERSONALLY ABOUT” BACKROOM DEAL TO TRADE POLICY FOR PAID ADS: “[T]he Pres’s words are harmless. He knows personally about our deal and is pushing no agenda.” (Footnote 21, House Energy and Commerce Committee, 6/8/2012)

FROM PhRMA LOBBYIST TO PhRMA LOBBYIST: “GOOD TO KNOW THE BACKROOM POLITICS.” (Footnote 21, House Energy and Commerce Committee, 6/8/2012)

HOW THE BILL WAS MADE:

OBAMA PROMISED SPECIAL INTERESTS PROTECTION IN EXCHANGE FOR SPENDING MILLIONS TO PROMOTE OBAMACARE: “In a June 2009 email, President Obama’s point person on health care promised the pharmaceutical industry it would be protected against efforts to allow cheap drugs to be re-imported from Canada, because drug lobbyists had been ‘constructive’ in their secret negotiations with White House officials. … As part of the final deal, PhRMA agreed to support health care legislation, spend millions on ads promoting it, and agree to $80 billion in savings and taxes to help finance the bill.” (Phillip Klein, “Emails Reveal Secret Obamacare Deal with Drug Cos,” The Washington Examiner, 5/31/2012)

“PhRMA’s REPRESENTATIVE INDICATED THAT PhRMA WAS NOT PREPARED TO RUN ADVERTISEMENTS BEFORE SEEING HOW THE HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION DEVELOPED”: (Energy and Commerce Staff, “Investigation Update: Closed-Door ObamaCare Negotiations,” House Energy and Commerce Committee, 6/8/2012)

PhRMA MEMO: “INDUSTRY PROVIDES THE MAJORITY OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT” FOR PRO-OBAMACARE ADS: (Drew Armstrong, “Drugmakers Vowed to Campaign for Health Law, Memos Show,” Bloomberg, 5/31/2012)

DRUG COMPANIES GOT A LAW THAT PROVIDED THEM “MILLIONS OF NEW CUSTOMERS”: “In exchange, PhRMA not only ended up with a law that promised to provide it with millions of new customers, but protected it against policies contemplated by Democrats that would have been harmful to their profits, such as introducing a government plan into the Medicare prescription drug program, allowing rebates for drug purchases through the program and drug re-importation.” (Phillip Klein, “Emails Reveal Secret Obamacare Deal with Drug Cos,” The Washington Examiner, 5/31/2012)

DRUG COMPANIES “WON OTHER UNPUBLICIZED DEALS FROM THE ADMINISTRATION” THAT WHITE HOUSE DENIED AT THE TIME: (Alicia Mundy, “E-mails Describe Deal-Making on Obama Health Bill,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/31/2012)

“THE WHITE HOUSE THREATENED TO SHAME THE INDUSTRY PUBLICLY IF THE NEGOTIATIONS FELL APART”: “At one point, the White House threatened to shame the industry publicly if the negotiations fell apart, according to an email written June 10 by a PhRMA lobbyist. ‘Barack Obama is going to announce in his Saturday radio address support for rebating all of [Medicare Part] D unless we come to a deal. So they are punishing us’ for refusing to concede, he wrote, referring to a proposal to require rebates in across-the-bard Medicare’s prescription-drug program. ‘They can’t get 60 votes for that [in the Senate]. It isn’t even a real threat,’ the email concluded. The president’s radio address, three days later, didn’t include the line.” (Alicia Mundy, “E-mails Describe Deal-Making on Obama Health Bill,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/31/2012)

“DEMOCRATS PROTECT[ED] BACKROOM DEALS” TO PASS OBAMACARE:(Carrie Budoff Brown and Patrick O’Connor, “Democrats Protect Backroom Deals,” Politico, 2/3/2010)

From ObamaCare to Solyndra, the Democrats have repeatedly resorted to crony capitalism with consistently disastrous results for taxpayers and working families:

WSJ: OBAMACARE DEALS SHOW “CRONY CAPITALISM”: “On Friday House Republicans released more documents that expose the collusion between the health-care industry and the White House that produced ObamaCare, and what a story of crony capitalism it is. If the trove of emails proves anything, it’s that the Tea Party isn’t angry enough.” (Editorial, “ObamaCare’s Secret History,”The Wall Street Journal, 6/11/2012)

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)

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)

SOLYNDRA AND BRIGHTSOURCE ENERGY PUSHED HARD FOR LOANS:

$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)

TOP OBAMA BUNDLER GEORGE KAISER “WEIGHED ASKING WHITE HOUSE TO SAVE SOLYNDRA” AS IT WAS FAILING: (Matthew Mosk, “Emails: Obama Donor Weighed Asking White House to Save Solyndra,” ABC News, 11/9/2011)

KAISER WAS SOLYNDRA’S BIGGEST INVESTOR AND PLOTTED TO GET WHITE HOUSE HELP TO GET SECOND STIMULUS LOAN AND GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS: (Joe Stephens, “Solyndra E-mails Show Obama Fundraiser Discussed Lobbying White House,” The Washington Post, 11/9/2011)

STEVE SPINNER’S SOLYNDRA ROLE: DOE OFFICIAL AND “OBAMA FUNDRAISER PUSHED SOLYNDRA LOAN” DESPITE PLEDGE TO RECUSE HIMSELF; HIS WIFE WAS SOLYNDRA LOBBYIST: (Matthew Daly, “Obama Fundraiser Pushed Solyndra Loan,” Associated Press, 10/7/2011

BRIGHTSOURCE ENERGY GOT $1.6 BILLION LOAN GUARANTEE, NOW FACING FINANCIAL STRUGGLES AFTER CANCELLING ITS IPO: (Dana Hull, “BrightSource Shelves IPO, Walks Away from Public Markets,” The San Jose Mercury News, 4/18/2012)

THE REVOLVING DOOR OF SPECIAL FAVORS: FORMER BRIGHTSOURCE CEO WENT INTO OBAMA ADMIN, SOUGHT SPECIAL TREATMENT FROM TOP OBAMA OFFICIALS: “Republicans alleged at a hearing Wednesday that Bryson, while chairman of BrightSource Energy, planned to lobby the White House for speedy finalization of a $1.6 billion loan guarantee for the Ivanpah solar generation project in California. … Woolard shared with Silver a draft version of a letter from Bryson to then-White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley calling for finalization of the company’s loan guarantee for Ivanpah, a huge solar power plant being constructed in California’s Mojave Desert.” (Andrew Restuccia, “House GOP’s Energy Dept. Loan Probe Could Ensnare Two Cabinet Secretaries,”The Hill, 5/16/2012)

OTHER SIBLINGS OF SOLYNDRA:

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)

ABOUND SOLAR HALTED PRODUCTION, LAID OFF WORKERS AFTER $400 MILLION STIMULUS LOAN: (Todd Woody, “Abound Solar, Recipient of $400 Million Federal Loan Guarantee, Halts Production,” Forbes, 3/1/2012)

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)

These unfair backroom deals with special interests appear to be standard procedure despite Obama’s promises that his administration would be “the most open and transparent in history”:

OBAMA SAID HIS ADMINISTRATION WOULD BE “THE MOST OPEN AND TRANSPARENT IN HISTORY”: (Josh Gerstein, “President Obama’s Muddy Transparency Record,” Politico, 3/5/2012) 

OBAMA WHITE HOUSE SEES A “STEADY STREAM OF LOBBYISTS”: “It was an unremarkable January day, with a steady stream of lobbyists among the thousands of daily visitors to the White House and the surrounding executive office buildings, according to a Washington Post analysis of visitor logs released by the administration. The Post matched visits with lobbying registrations and connected records in the visitor database to show who participated in the meetings, information now available in a search engine on the Post’s web site.” (TW Farnam, “White House Visitor Logs Provide Window Into Lobbying Industry,” The Washington Post, 5/20/2012)

“THE LOBBYING INDUSTRY OBAMA HAS VOWED TO CONSTRAIN IS A REGULAR PRESENCE”: “The visitor logs for Jan. 17 — one of the most recent days available — show that the lobbying industry Obama has vowed to constrain is a regular presence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.” (TW Farnam, “White House Visitor Logs Provide Window Into Lobbying Industry,” The Washington Post, 5/20/2012)

“LOBBYISTS WITH PERSONAL CONNECTIONS TO THE WHITE HOUSE ENJOY THE EASIEST ACCESS”: (TW Farnam, “White House Visitor Logs Provide Window Into Lobbying Industry,” The Washington Post, 5/20/2012)

IN OBAMA’S WHITE HOUSE, “YOU NEED A LOBBYIST TO GET A MEETING”:“‘The whole process was interesting for me. It’s a little scary,’ Menter said. ‘You need a lobbyist to get a meeting.’” (TW Farnam, “White House Visitor Logs Provide Window Into Lobbying Industry,” The Washington Post, 5/20/2012)