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Defiant Chu refuses Republican calls to apologize for role in Solyndra fiasco
Energy Secretary Steven Chu refused to take the fall for the Solyndra controversy during a grueling Thursday hearing where he rejected calls that he apologize for approving the $535 million loan guarantee.
Chu, a respected physicist and Nobel laureate, spent more than five hours answering pointed questions from Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce investigative panel who are looking to score political points on the issue.
“As the secretary of Energy, the final decisions on Solyndra were mine, and I made them with the best interest of the taxpayer in mind,” Chu said, surrounded by about a dozen photographers. “I want to be clear: Over the course of Solyndra’s loan guarantee, I did not make any decision based on political considerations.”
Pressed by Republicans, Chu said he would not approve the Solyndra loan guarantee today, knowing what he knows now about the company.
“Certainly knowing what I know now, we would say no,” Chu said. “But you don’t make decisions by fast-forwarding two years in the future. I wish I could do that.”
Chu’s testimony wasn’t enough for panel Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and other Republicans who have launched a months-long investigation and unearthed more than 180,000 pages of documents about the loan. Stearns said Chu had “failed the test” and should be fired.
“The fact that he’s unaware of so many things makes me think that he’s not the best person for the position,” Stearns said.
But another senior Republican argued the White House could be setting Chu up as a “fall guy.”
“I don’t think you should resign,” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas). “I do think that you are a man of integrity trying to do your job as best as you can.
“I also happen to believe that it’s possible that you are being set up to be the fall guy,” he said.
Chu stood by the Energy Department’s loan program, arguing that the administration must continue to make major investments in renewable energy in order to compete with global powerhouses like China.
“[W]e really have nothing to hide; we have really nothing to be ashamed about,” Chu told reporters after the hearing. “The people [in] the loan program conducted themselves in a very professional manner. We are continuing to improve our processes, as any good agency would do.”
Chu refused to apologize for his role in the Solyndra debacle despite prodding from committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.).
“Who has to apologize for the half a billion dollars in taxpayer money that’s out the door?” Upton asked.
Chu responded: “Well, it is extremely unfortunate what has happened with Solyndra. Was there incompetence? Was there any influence of a political nature? I would have to say no.”
The Energy Department couldn’t have predicted that the cost of solar panels would drop, driving Solyndra and other U.S. solar manufacturers toward financial collapse, Chu said.
“This company and several others got caught in a very, very bad tsunami,” Chu said.
Asked how much of the $535 million taxpayers will be able to recover, Chu said, “That remains to be seen. Not very much.”
Solyndra’s bankruptcy has been a political firestorm for the White House that has threatened the president’s much-
touted green-energy agenda.
Knowing Chu’s appearance at Thursday’s hearing would be a major media event, Chu’s department sought to get out front on the issue by having Chu preview his testimony in an interview with NPR earlier this week. The Energy Department also released excerpts of the secretary’s prepared remarks Wednesday afternoon, while department spokesman Damien LaVera launched a Twitter account to combat Republican attacks.
Republicans criticized Chu at the hearing for approving the loan guarantee in 2009 and agreeing to restructure the loan in February.
“The number of red flags about Solyndra that were raised along the way — many from within DOE — and either ignored or minimized by senior officials is astonishing,” Upton said.
Barton blasted Energy management: “I’ve been on this committee for 25 years; rarely if ever, to put it positively, have I seen a more mismanaged program than the Solyndra loan guarantee,” he said.
Democrats on the committee criticized Republicans for their focus on Solyndra.
“Instead of conducting a serious inquiry into the facts regarding Solyndra and lessons we can learn from this case, the majority to date has focused on firing partisan broadsides at the Obama administration,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.), the top Democrat on the subcommittee.
Despite Republicans’ allegations of cronyism — they have tried for months to show that the administration approved the loan because George Kaiser, a top Obama fundraiser, was an investor in Solyndra — their investigation has yet to uncover solid evidence that the loan guarantee was approved for political reasons.
But the investigation has unearthed a number of revelations that could be uncomfortable for the administration, including that the White House pressed administration officials to quickly make a decision on the loan guarantee and that Energy Department officials pressed Solyndra to hold off on a layoff announcement until after the 2010 midterm elections.
Barton wasn’t the only Republican on Thursday to suggest Chu might be a scapegoat for the administration.
“The administration is looking for any kind of scapegoat they can to throw under the bus to try to end this investigation,” Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) told reporters. “But we’re going to take this as far as the facts will lead us.”
Ben Geman contributed to this story.
