Solyndra: Bankrupt Solar Company A Republican Problem, Not Just Obama's

WASHINGTON -- Before the House Energy and Commerce Committee jumps on the Republican bandwagon accusing the White House of cronyism in backing a now-bankrupt solar firm Solyndra with stimulus dollars, it might consider the GOP origins of the deal.

Solyndra, which got $535 million in federally-backed stimulus act loans and was heavily touted by the Obama administration, abruptly declared bankruptcy late last month, then was raided by the FBI.

With President Obama seeking a fresh $447 billion government injection to boost the stalled economy, the GOP is touting the Solyndra debacle as evidence the last stimulus failed. And some have gone farther, including party chairman Reince Preibus, who suggested Solyndra investors got a sweet deal on the loans because one investor -- George Kaiser -- is an Obama fundraiser.

"Solyndra's downfall puts a spotlight on the kind of taxpayer-funded cronyism this White House said it would eliminate," Preibus said. "Before taxpayers are forced to spend another dime of stimulus money, the White House must explain why they were so reckless the first time around."

The White House will have some explaining to do Wednesday when the Energy and Commerce Committee demands to know how half a billion taxpayer dollars were squandered.

But the explanation is likely to include a history lesson that goes back to the GOP.

That's because Solyndra first came into the picture during the Bush administration, when it was one of just 16 firms found eligible for several billion dollars available in the Energy Policy Act of 2005's guaranteed loan program.

And more, the Energy Policy Act, which the Bush administration used to promote Solyndra, was passed by the same committee under the leadership of Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas).

One Democrat noted that while the GOP has been having a field day with the involvement of an Obama bundler, another major investor in a similar position is Madrone Capital Partners, run by Walmart's Walton family -- major GOP donors.

Further, the Bush administration nearly pushed a guaranteed loan through for Solyndra the day before Obama took office, ThinkProgress reported.

While the FBI is investigating Solyndra, apparently over what it told officials about the loan, the root firm's problem may be that it simply could not compete with the falling prices being asked by China-backed and other Asian companies, according to various business analyses.

The Department of Energy, which oversaw the loan, is responsible for dozens more.

Comments

[wildbil546]

12:00 AM on 09/19/2011

Bush refused to sign off on this project even after they pressured him all the way up until Jan 2009.. The emails showing that and also how mad the Solydnra people were at the time are on just about every news site right now (except this one of course). The Solyndra scandal is an Obama problem, and a huge one at that. I see most of the comments hee are tyring to point you to these facts as well.

[TheScarletPimpernel]

07:16 PM on 09/18/2011

Just to put this in perspective GW Bush said when we invaded Iraq it would cost $30 billion...it ended up costing $2trillion and 4500 dead americans...he wanted a photo op and he got one on the deck of an aircraft carrier..when it comes to wasteful idiotic spending the Bush admin has no equal and never will...so ot the righties here stop with the crocodile tears about a company going under in a free enterprise system in an industry our country wants to be in....

[wallace1303]

04:04 PM on 09/17/2011

Another half-a**ed Huffpo story. Bush refused to sign off on this project. Tell the truth once in a while and stop gong for the spin and headline.

[wildbil546]

12:01 AM on 09/19/2011

The emails showing this are now being reported by the AP, CBS, ABC...just about every major wabsite. I'm actually shocked that the HP would keep trying to blame Bush after all the facts have come out.

[Ish Osta]

10:27 AM on 09/17/2011

They filed bankruptcy this month. Just like the critics said. You are an idiot!

[WFC]

12:32 AM on 09/16/2011

The author of this article has absolutely no credibility.Mr Mc Auliff, have you or are you going to come back on here and retract the premis of your article? HP, are you going to let said author write any more stories on your site?

[demsrsilly]

07:32 AM on 09/15/2011

Almost counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but NOT in giving half a billion to a company that the OMB had serious concerns over. It was the obama administration, NOT the Bush administration that gave this company half a billion. Odd that the company is linked with a major obama bundler got fast track approval and sweetheart interest rate..... Half a billion for a photo op.

[Eidolas]

10:49 AM on 09/16/2011

And they gave the money after clear warnings that the company was going under. Too bad they won't do the same for mortgages.

[JDINTX]

01:16 AM on 09/15/2011

Mr. McAuliff is a little behind in his reporting. The DOE issued a statement days before Obama's innauguration recommending not to go forward with the Solyndra application. The OMB declared in April '09 the Solyndra deal was "not ready for primetime" The following week Mr. Kaiser visits the WH.....twice. The following week DOE places Solyndra on a fastrack loan approval.
Emails revealed today show the WH asking OMB why the delay.....the President wants to schedule an appearance at ......Solyndra.....
btw.....Think Progress has scrubbed the story from its site that Mr. McAuliff used as the basis for his....."story"

[demsrsilly]

07:29 AM on 09/15/2011

No, he is doing as he is told, deflect and distract blame.

Pressure was rushed through to facilitate a photo op. A half billion dollar photo op.

Fact, the Bush administration did NOT give money to this company. The obama administration.

This does not matter to this person.

[JDINTX]

12:47 AM on 09/16/2011

Yours was the only response to my comment, not surprised are you? Glad to see somebody here gets their news from other sources.

[TheScarletPimpernel]

02:06 PM on 09/16/2011

DOD under the authority of Dick Cheney handout $9 billion in bribes to Mqutada Al sada, shite milita's and Sunni Groups in Iraq so President Bush could have photos ops...Gerry Bremmer when questioned about the missing money exerted Executive privlage....

[JDINTX]

05:13 PM on 09/18/2011

When confronted with an indefensible position.....change the subject

[W5678]

07:44 PM on 09/14/2011

It is quite simple. Don't give hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars to a floundering company or automatic assault rifles to the Mexican drug cartels. Not sure what made them think either of these was a good idea. How about pushing electric cars at the same time you are "Planning to make electric bills skyrocket". Or asking for $450B for jobs when you are trying to squash businesses through regulations and threats of tax increases. Sounds like a mental disorder more than a plan.

[Genders]

07:01 PM on 09/14/2011

You all are falling for the fossil and nuke, anti green big money propaganda that this business failure means solar is bad. business mostly fail. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_business_failures

This business at least left the world with 100MW more of clean solar power for that 500M$. T

5$ per w. It's not a scam.

Now deadly nuclear power, which we don't want, got 54B$ in loan backing for an industry with a 50% default rate, that is supposedly mature in profitable, not cutting edge new tech. Maybe Rahm and Axelrod's lobbying for the nuke power industry worked, huh? Clean coal and oil wars also get huge money, but somehow because this one is solar, it must be a scam.

Please grow up, before it is too late.

vote in the CPC progressive in the primaries and the dems in the general.

[killpack]

07:09 PM on 09/14/2011

No, sorry, this is a scam. If this would have been a feasible project, they wouldn't have needed to spend millions lobbying their friends for the loan in the first place. There are plenty of greedy people in this world who will make a buck off of anything, including solar energy. If they would have thought it a good idea, they would have been all over it.

[Genders]

07:19 PM on 09/14/2011

If your competition in the Nuke power industry get the 54B$ loan and you don't, guess who wins?

Think it through again, you really have missed the boat.

[W5678]

07:01 PM on 09/14/2011

I thought the cost of Obama traveling around the country selling his goods was bad. Who would have thought it would cost the taxpayers an extra $500M for that speech. Think this may be his "....Gate".

[killpack]

06:54 PM on 09/14/2011

So, this is a Republican problem, not just Obama's? How is that supposed to make me feel better about half a billion dollars flushed down the toilet? Shame on the President for perpetuating such poor decision-making. This is exactly why I knew the stimulus was a scam.

[madisonlike60]

12:43 AM on 09/15/2011

You really should read the story. The Bush administration tried to push this loan through "conditionally" right before President Obama took office in January.
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/09/13/317594/timeline-bush-administration-solyndra-loan-guarantee/

[killpack]

10:39 AM on 09/15/2011

Shame on ALL involved in this scandal, whomever they may be. This should be remembered vividly the next time some phony comes to Washington lobbying for a handout.

[WFC]

12:41 AM on 09/16/2011

The White House also noted to ABC News that the Bush administration was the first to consider Solyndra's application and that some executives at the company have a history of donating to Republicans. The results of the Congressional probe shared Tuesday with ABC News show that less than two weeks before President Bush left office, on January 9, 2009, the Energy Department's credit committee made a unanimous decision not to offer a loan commitment to Solyndra

[hammhome]

06:38 PM on 09/14/2011

And now we have the Washington Post reporting that the Obama White House officials pressured OMB to approve the massive Solyndra loan of $535 million dollars, before OMB had completed their due diligance........... so Obama could make a green jobs speech in California at the Solyndra factory. I can just imagine the colorful language Rahm Emmanuel used.

[mkhpalm]

06:16 PM on 09/14/2011

The results of the Congressional probe shared Tuesday with ABC News show that less than two weeks before President Bush left office, on January 9, 2009, the Energy Department's credit committee had voted against offering a loan commitment to Solyndra.

[madisonlike60]

12:47 AM on 09/15/2011

That's correct. But the Bush administration tried to push the loan through "conditionally" anyway, right before Obama took office.
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/09/13/317594/timeline-bush-administration-solyndra-loan-guarantee/

[demsrsilly]

07:33 AM on 09/15/2011

So how does this affect the FACT that it was the obama administration that gave half a billion to this company?

[Left Hook]

04:19 PM on 09/14/2011

COME ON DEMS! Don't just lay there and let the 'cons slime away at Pres. Obama with impunity! Go after them for their creation of the problem in the first place. COWBOY UP - GITTER DONE! FIGHT BACK ALREADY! If you want to see what not fighting back looks like see yesterday's election where a 'con took a dem seat that for 90 years NEVER went to the (R)s...

[justoneguy60]

04:59 PM on 09/14/2011

Want to guess why the seat went Republican? My suggestion is two fold; 1) Weiner's behavior, 2) obama's policies and agenda, I could be wrong

[alteredstory]

06:22 PM on 09/14/2011

Eh, it's not Weiner's behavior. If texting pictures was that bad, Ensign's replacement would have been Democratic. It's a combination of Obama's lack of spine, and the Democrats' general inability to campaign recently.

Most of the reason Obama's as unpopular as he is, is that he HASN'T been pushing a liberal agenda. He's talked big, and caved to corporate America every step of the way in exchange for votes he will never get.

[masanf]

05:00 PM on 09/14/2011

As I state in another comment, I would love for "geniuses like you to explain to us how not approving a loan for Solyndra is the same as pressuring an independent government agency to approve a loan in time for a Biden photo-op. They are not even remotely similar.

[derspado]

04:06 PM on 09/14/2011

Notice the placing of this thread. This is Obama's Green baby and he cannot abort it now.

[alteredstory]

06:22 PM on 09/14/2011

...You didn't read the article, did you...

[hammhome]

06:30 PM on 09/14/2011

Yes, and The Washington Post, ABC News, CBS News who have been doing the actual journalistic investigating. This is an honest-to-goodness Obama scandal, regardless of the LAME attempt to smear the previous admin with it.