Grassley demands job creation numbers for Obama’s electric car grants

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) dared the Obama administration on Thursday to prove that its $2 billion in grants for electric vehicles led to the employment of “thousands of American workers.”

Grassley’s comment came after one grant recipient, A123 Systems, filed for bankruptcy this week. A123 Systems made batteries for electric cars, an industry President Obama has touted as a successful government investment during his reelection campaign.

“I’ve asked the administration for a detailed break-down of the job numbers that justify the statement that thousands of American workers are employed as a result of federal grants for electric vehicles,” Grassley said in a statement Thursday. “The public deserves an accurate, current accounting of the numbers that justify the claim of jobs directly related to federal spending.”

Grassley said the administration has told his staff it doesn’t have the number of jobs created from the grants.

“The administration says it’s awarded $2 billion in grants to 29 companies involved in the electrification of vehicles, leading to the employment of ‘thousands of American workers,’ ” Grassley said. “This comes after the administration, through the Department of Energy, told my staff it doesn’t verify or update job creation statistics provided by grant and loan recipients.”

Grassley said the president’s claims of job creation in the electric vehicle industry are “meaningless” if he can’t back it up with facts and that the only way to verify that the president is telling the truth is to hand over the numbers.

“That’s the only way to quantify whether the federal spending accomplished what the administration said it would accomplish,” Grassley said. “Claims of job creation without verification are meaningless, and right now, there’s zero verification.”

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