Republican members of Congress investigating federal loan guarantees to now-bankrupt energy companies told Energy Secretary Steven Chu last week that they never asked him to speed up similar projects in their states, according to USA Today.
But that’s exactly what some did, according to a review of 484 congressional support letters obtained by USA TODAY. Some letters, for example, urged quick approval of a $2 billion loan guarantee for the American Centrifuge, a uranium enrichment project projected to create hundreds of jobs in states including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
“It is imperative that this application move forward now,” said a letter signed by five members of Congress, including Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa.
“Any delays put the project at risk,” said a letter to the Office of Management and Budget signed by 15 members, including Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., and Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C.
And even as late as Nov. 4, DesJarlais signed on to another letter saying “quick action is paramount” and asking for “immediate action on funding.”
That was two months after the bankruptcy of solar panel maker Solyndra despite a $535 million federal loan guarantee. Solyndra’s failure prompted Congress to hold hearings about pressure by the White House to speed up a decision on the loan guarantee so that Vice President Biden could announce it.
At one hearing last Nov. 17, Chu testified that he had received nearly 500 letters from members of Congress supporting the loan programs. “We appreciate the support that the loan programs receive from many members of Congress who have urged us to accelerate our efforts and to fund worthy projects in their states,” he told a House subcommittee.
But in a letter to Chu last week, 19 GOP members of Congress — including Pitts, DesJarlais and Myrick — defended those letters, accusing Chu of “intentionally making misguided and far-reaching statements to cover your own failures.”
“These letters should in no way give you and your staff the belief that members are specifically asking you to ‘accelerate’ taxpayer funds and push them out the door without proper oversight,” they wrote.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., crafted that letter. She said in an interview that the main point was to request information about the decision-making process that led to the failed loans. And while she did not send letters supporting loan guarantees, she also defended members who did write Chu.