Along with pretty much every other Republican in Congress, Fred Upton and Cliff Stearns hope the failure of of Solyndra, a green energy company backed by federal loan guarantees under a program initiated during the Bush administration, turns into the first bona fide scandal of the Obama administration.
But just like many of their colleagues — including House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa — both Upton and Stearns not only supported the program under which Solyndra received aide, they lobbied on behalf of companies in their district to receive the exact same sort of assistance.
In 2005, when Republicans controlled Congress and the White House, Upton voted for an energy law that included a loan guarantee program to help support companies looking to develop renewable energy projects as well as nuclear and coal. And in 2007, Upton backed legislation that created the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program, targeting manufacturers and suppliers looking to retool U.S. factories to build high-fuel economy vehicles.
The ATVM Loan Program has proved to be a boon for Michigan. In July, a Michigan steel manufacturer, Severstal Dearborn, won a $730 million loan guarantee from the Energy Department. One year earlier, Upton was among Michigan lawmakers who wrote to Chu calling for "prompt completion and consideration of loan applications" from Michigan companies. [...] Upton also was among four GOP lawmakers from Michigan who wrote to Chu on Oct. 30, 2010, urging him to back a $207 million ATVM loan guarantee for EcoMotors International, which was looking to develop a manufacturing site in Livonia, Mich.
So Upton not only helped pass the law, but he also used it to help his constituents. There's nothing wrong with that, but in light of his current scandalmongering, it's worth noting that less than two years ago, he was praising the Obama administration:
Upton was among a bipartisan group of Michigan lawmakers who praised Chu for "efforts to promote the development of clean energy in Michigan and across the country," according to a December 2009 letter to the Energy Department that was co-signed by Upton.
That letter was written to bolster the application of four clean-energy companies — Suniva, Inc., United Solar Ovonics, Xtreme Power Solutions and Clairvoyant Energy — seeking 1705 loans.
As for Cliff Stearns, his hometown newspaper pointedly called him out over the weekend for the duplicity inherent in his scandalmongering:
U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns and his fellow Republicans have seized on the recent bankruptcy of Solyndra Inc. to discredit the Obama administration's efforts to stimulate renewable energy development and green job growth.
"I see no reason for the taxpayers to have any confidence that these funds could be spent wisely, and it should be returned to the Treasury to reduce our debt," Stearns said, calling the Obama administration's use of stimulus funds to encourage alternative energy development "suspect."
Funny, that's not what Stearns said last year, when the Energy Department provided $95.5 million to help Saft America Inc. open a lithium-ion battery plant in his district, at Cecil Commerce Center, in Jacksonville.
"I am honored to join in welcoming Saft's Li-ion battery manufacturing facility to the Cecil Commerce Center, which underscores that this is a good place to do business," Stearns said at the plant's ground-breaking.
"In addition, as a member of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, I recognize the contributions of these advanced rechargeable batteries in meeting our energy needs."
Did it really take the bankruptcy of just one stimulus-supported solar energy manufacturer to turn Rep. Stearns sour on green energy development?
If so, that's too bad. Because America's competitors in China, Europe and elsewhere have no such reluctance about subsidizing the cutting edge technologies and alternative energy development that will be so crucial to economic success and job growth in the coming years.
Stearns was right the first time.
As the paper points out, Stearns is worse than a hypocrite: he's wrong. Instead of spending all their time trying to score political points by dreaming up a scandal that just isn't there, wouldn't it be nice if he and the rest of his cronies tried to get something done for the country instead?