ABC NEWS AND CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY REPORT ON LOANS TO COMPANIES LINKED TO OBAMA SUPPORTERS

“The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is looking into the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Loan Guarantee Program and found DOE has ‘treated applicants inconsistently,’” said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.  ABC News* and The Center for Public Integrity** today reported that companies linked to fundraisers for President Obama benefited from the DOE Loan Guarantee Program.  ABC News interviewed Stearns for its story, which is scheduled to air on World News with Diane Sawyer this evening, March 30th at 6:30 PM.

As Chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Stearns held a hearing earlier this month on DOE’s use of funding provided under the stimulus bill.  Explained Stearns, “Under the stimulus bill, the DOE received about $35 billion to promote job growth, with $2.5 billion for its Loan Guarantee Program. As of now the Department has only spent one third of this money, and only 5 percent of the funds in the Loan Guarantee Program.  With the potential push to spend these funds by the September deadline and the GAO’s finding of inconsistencies, there is significant potential for waste and abuse. I am also concerned with possible waste, fraud, and abuse in relation to these lucrative contracts.”

Stearns is also looking at the case of Solyndra, a California solar power company that received a loan guarantee of $535 million in 2009 to create jobs. In an audit of Solyndra, PricewaterhouseCoopers stated, “"The company has suffered recurring losses from operations, negative cash flows since inception and has a net stockholders' deficit that, among other factors, raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern."  The Center for Public Integrity reports that one investor in Solyndra, George Kaiser, was a significant financial supporter of President Obama.