Dems’ Green Casino Lost $3 Billion in Tax Dollars, But Dems Want to Keep Betting

February 13, 2012

President Obama’s Budget “Doubles Down” on Record of Green Failure That Has Taxpayers Seeing Red

In unveiling his campaign-year budget, President Obama was unapologetic in defending the Democrats’ failed spending, borrowing and taxing policies of the last three years. Worse yet, President Obama announced he will double down on the government programs that spawned the Solyndra scandal, despite the company’s embarrassing but instructive bankruptcy.
The hits keep on coming at the Democrats’ green casino. A new review of the Democrats’ green energy lending program suggests the program lost as much as $3 billion in taxpayer money with its high-risk investments on green companies—and that’s money taxpayers are never getting back.
A new independent audit notes that Democrats created few provisions for oversight over the billions of dollars of stimulus funds they spent on so-called green projects, to notoriously little effect. Yet despite this lack of transparency, Democrats are still refusing to release key Solyndra documents.

In unveiling his campaign-year budget, President Obama was unapologetic in defending the Democrats’ failed spending, borrowing and taxing policies of the last three years. Worse yet, President Obama announced he will double down on the government programs that spawned the Solyndra scandal, despite the company’s embarrassing but instructive bankruptcy:

OBAMA’S CAMPAIGN-YEAR BUDGET “DOUBLES DOWN” ON FAILED GREEN PROGRAMS: (Keith Johnson, “Obama Budget Doubles Down on Clean Energy,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/13/2012)

“OBAMA UNVEILS BIG-SPENDING ELECTION-YEAR BUDGET”: (Allister Bull and Laura MacInnis, “Obama Unveils Big Spending Election-Year Budget,” Reuters, 2/13/2012)

FLASHBACK: OBAMA SAID STIMULUS WAS INTENDED TO “TAKE BETS” ON NOW-BANKRUPT COMPANIES LIKE SOLYNDRA: “But that’s exactly what the loan guarantee program was designed by Congress to do, was to take bets on these areas where we need to make sure that we’re maintaining our lead.” (“News Conference by the President,” The White House, 10/6/2011)

OBAMA USED STATE OF THE UNION TO EMBRACE HIS RECORD OF FAILURE ON “GREEN” PROGRAMS LIKE SOLYNDRA: “Our experience with shale gas, our experience with natural gas, shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don’t always come right away. Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan. I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here. We’ve subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable and double down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. Pass clean-energy tax credits.” (“Transcript: Obama Delivers State of the Union Speech,” CNN, 1/24/2012)

OBAMA’S RE-ELECT CAMPAIGN SIGNALS INTENTION TO RUN ON FAILURE, CELEBRATING NOW-BANKRUPT SOLYNDRA IN THEIR FIRST 2012 AD: “Don’t think Chicago is deeply concerned about the brand damage that the Solyndra semi-scandal can wreak? Of all President Obama’s vulnerabilities (Isn’t this race supposed to be about the economy?), Team Obama chose to attack Solyndra right out of the gate, placing Obama, literally, in a sea of solar panels, amid quotes proclaiming him to be cleaner than clean — wallowing in the future.”(Glenn Thrush, “Decoding Obama’s First Ad: S-O-L-Y-N-D-R-A,” Politico, 1/19/2012)

The hits keep on coming at the Democrats’ green casino. A new review of the Democrats’ green energy lending program suggests the program lost as much as $3 billion in taxpayer money with its high-risk investments on green companies—and that’s money taxpayers are never getting back:

“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)

A new independent audit notes that Democrats created few provisions for oversight over the billions of dollars of stimulus funds they spent on so-called green projects, to notoriously little effect. Yet despite this lack of transparency, Democrats are still refusing to release key Solyndra documents:

“SOLYNDRA: AUDIT FINDS LOAN PROGRAM LACKED OVERSIGHT”: (Neela Banerjee, “Solyndra: Audit Finds Program Lacked Oversight,” Los Angeles Times, 2/10/2012)

“FEW PROVISIONS FOR THOROUGH MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT OF THE LOAN GUARANTEES ONCE THEY WERE APPROVED”: “But the audit showed the laws passed from 2005 to 2009 that established the programs in question at the Energy Department had few provisions for thorough monitoring and oversight of the loan guarantees once they were approved. One program created in 2007 did not ‘provide any requirements regarding governance and monitoring of loans after closing.’

” ‘Neither the statutes nor the regulations governing the programs specify internal or external oversight or reporting requirements,’ the report concluded.”(Neela Banerjee, “Solyndra: Audit Finds Program Lacked Oversight,” Los Angeles Times, 2/10/2012)

WAS THIS IN DEMOCRATS AUDIT? SOLYNDRA SOLD ASSETS BELOW VALUE TO COMPANY’S BIGGEST INVESTORS FOR QUICK FUNDS: “Fast running out of money, solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC last summer sold off nearly $60 million worth of inventory for less than $20 million in cash to a newly formed corporate entity closely tied to the company’s biggest investors, records show.

“Backed by $535 million in federal loan guarantees but burning through the little cash it had left, Solyndra made its first sale in late July to a corporate entity that had been formed just a day earlier. Three more transactions followed over the next few weeks with the same buyer, Solyndra Solar II.” (Jim McElhatton, “Solyndra Sold Assets Cheap for Fast Cash,” The Washington Times, 2/8/2012)

SOLYNDRA CAUGHT RED-HANDED “DESTROYING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PARTS” DESPITE OWING TAXPAYERS NEARLY HALF A BILLION DOLLARS: “After filing for bankruptcy last year, Fremont solar company Solyndra still owes American taxpayers half a billion dollars. But CBS 5 caught them destroying millions of dollars worth of parts.”

“At Solyndra’s sprawling complex in Fremont, workers in white jumpsuits were unwrapping brand new glass tubes used in solar panels last week. They are the latest, most cutting-edge solar technology, and they are being thrown into dumpsters.” (“Bankrupt Solyndra Caught Destroying New Parts,” CBS San Francisco, 1/19/2012)

BUT WHITE HOUSE IS STILL NOT RELEASING ALL SOLYNDRA DOCUMENTS: (Jim Snyder, “House Republicans Press White House on Solyndra Documents,” Bloomberg, 2/9/2012)