GOP Questions Chu's Competence As Energy Secretary

By Adrianna McGinley

Energy Secretary Steven Chu emphatically denied any wrong doing on his part or that of his Department in the decision to provide the now bankrupt solar energy company Solyndra with a $535 million government loan guarantee in 2009.

Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations rigorously questioned Secretary Chu about what he knew regarding the decision to move forward with the loan and when he knew it. Republican members referenced numerous emails they said clearly showed the eminent failure of the company.

Chu denied having any knowledge of the emails at the time the loan was approved and said given the information that was available at that time “competent decisions were made”.

Chu attributes the failure of the company not to bad decisions, rather to an unforeseeable economic downfall spurred by rising competition and government support in China to further solar energy development. Chu added that the U.S. must be willing to take risky decisions and make risky investments in order to support a sustainable future and create jobs.

“There’s a heavy expectation in the business world that these technologies will become competitive without subsidy in a relatively short period of time,” Chu said. “The whole issue is…do we want to be buyers or sellers?”

GOP members also grilled Chu on whether or not he was aware of any communication between the White House and the DOE regarding the decision to restructure the loan and the decision to delay the announcement of Solyndra layoffs and looming financial default until after the 2010 midterm elections.

Chu emphatically denied any pressure or influence from the administration on these issues, saying “I’m not sure what communications there were between DOE and the White House, but certainly we did not communicate with the White House on whether we should approve the loan…that was our responsibility.”

Chu also denied White House pressure to restructure the loan in February 2011, adding that the decision was a difficult one.

“We either had to stop the loan, which would have made Solyndra go into immediate bankruptcy with a half completed factory, or we could say we can continue on the contract of the loan, which was to build this factory,” Chu said. “Once the factory was complete Solyndra would have a fighting chance of continuing or it could offer that factory sale as a whole unit.”

“We were always focused on that path that could get as much taxpayer recovery as possible,” Chu emphasized.

Chu added these loans are inevitably risky in nature and the legislation of the entire DOE loan program reflects that. Chu said the legislation passed by Congress includes $10 billion budgeted for losses, but when asked how much of the lost tax payer money would be recovered, he said “not very much.”

Members on both sides of the aisle also questioned the legality under the 2005 Energy Policy Act of the decision to subordinate tax payer recovery for corporate interests during the process of restructuring. GOP members maintained Chu broke the law in making that decision, sparking several members to question whether Chu is competent as energy secretary and whether resignation should be considered.

“Have you discussed with your boss whether or not you should continue in your position having violated the spirit of the Energy Policy Act of 2005?” Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) questioned.

Chu responded, “we believe there was no violation of the law.”

Administration Officials Come Under Fire During Solyndra Hearing

By Adrianna McGinley

Witnesses in the Solyndra investigation faced intense questioning by members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce during a hearing Wednesday.

Jonathan Silver, Executive Director of the Loans Programs Office for the Department of Energy, and Jeffrey Zients, Deputy Director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, testified before the Committee conducting the investigation into a $535 million loan awarded to Solyndra, Inc. under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Last week, the company suspended business and announced bankruptcy, launching the investigation. 

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) in her opening remarks stated that the questions to be answered were whether the Bush and Obama administrations conducted sufficient due diligence before approving the loan, whether the Department of Energy sufficiently monitored the financial status of Solyndra after the loan had been disbursed, whether Solyndra made accurate representations of its financial prospects both before and after loan disbursement, and whether the government made the right decision in restructuring the loan when Solyndra’s financial standing deteriorated.

The hearing quickly sparked finger pointing as both sides closely questioned the timeline of the loan approval, attempting to determine attribution to either the Bush or Obama administration. Questions of political favoritism came in to play, as did questions of whether the witnesses were career civil service employees or political appointees.

Answers from witnesses often seemed unclear, leading Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) to say to Silver, “I really want you to stop throwing everybody else under the bus, I hear you throwing all your staff under the bus. I want to know, you’re in charge, you’ve handled loans of this size and now you’re saying its everybody else’s fault except you, but you’re in charge.”

Executives from Solyndra were scheduled to be at Wednesday’s hearing, but will instead be testifying next week.

Closing Of Yucca Mountain Raises Discrepancy Between Energy Department And Congress

By Monique Cala
University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

During testimony Wednesday before the House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu defending the process by which his FY 2011 budget request of $28.4 billion will help the U.S. lead in the ‘21st century global economy.'

“It’s going to create new clean energy jobs, expand the frontiers of science, reduce nuclear dangers, and help curb the carbon pollution that threatens our planet,” said Chu.

Concerns were raised about the future of Yucca Mountain and the creation of a second nuclear waste site.

“We have known for years that a second repository was going to be needed, but that shouldn't make us throw away billions of tax and rate payer dollars dedicated to building the first one,” said Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.). “Scientific opinion was that Yucca Mountain was a good choice. From where I am sitting, the scientific consensus hasn't changed one bit, nor has the expressed will of Congress or this subcommittee. It is politics that has changed.”

Chu responded that due to the Obama Administration’s intent to close down Yucca Mountain, his department had began to look at the expense of closing the waste site.

Other members of the committee, including Frelinghuysen, explained to Chu that his budget plan is merely a ‘request’ until Congress approves it.

“Mr. Secretary let me perfectly clear, there will be no authority granted unless Congress grants it,” said Frelinghuysen. “The dollars we appropriate are not yours, nor the President’s, but belong to the people we represent. This committee by law will determine how they are spent.”

Saving The Environment Could Save You Cash And Maybe Your Job, Says Labor Secretary

By Laurel Brishel Prichard University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

A new rebate program for home retrofits proposed by the Obama administration could save homeowners hundreds of dollars a year and create new jobs, according to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

“The single act of retrofitting these home to make them more energy efficient is one of the fastest and easiest things that we can do to put Americans back to work while saving families money and reducing harmful emissions,” Solis said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “In short, this is a triple win. We are meeting the needs of workers, employers and home owners.”

Solis added that the administration will offer training programs to instruct workers in retrofitting. The secretary contended that the program is an important step in recovering the hard-hit construction industry.

The $6 billion program would be divided into two rebates, the gold and the silver star, which would be added to the current energy tax rebate program that was enacted under the Recovery Act, according to Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner.

The silver star program would issue a 50 precent rebate for point of sale purchases on energy saving equipment up to $1,000 and cap the credit amount to $3,000 per home. The gold star program would be an overall rebate of $3,000 on whole home energy retrofits.

Browning estimates that around 2-3 million homes would be affected and homeowners could stand to save around $200- $500 per year in energy costs.

Energy Department Announces New Nuclear Waste Commission

By Sofia Sanchez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday announced the creation of a Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s nuclear future Friday.

According to a statement released by the DOE, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu was called on by President Baracl Obama to develop a commission. This commission would provide recommendations for developing a safe, long-term solution to managing the nation’s used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste.

“Finding an acceptable long-term solution to our used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste storage needs is vital to the economic, environmental and security interests of the United States,” said former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), who is co-chairing the commission. “This will be a thorough, comprehensive review based on the best available science.”

Currently, there are two nuclear repositories located in the southwestern United States. Yucca Mountain, however, which was selected by Congress 22 years ago to store civilian nuclear waste, has been surrounded by controversy, and it is often the focus of many legal and political fights.

According to the committee, that location should no longer be an option to store nuclear waste. This raises questions over the repository located in Carlsbad, N.M., which, since opening in 1999, has received 60,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste from the country's nuclear defense facilities.

But since the administration has decided not to proceed with the Yucca Mountain site, Carlsbad may be the only option left.