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OBAMA CLAIMS SOLYNDRA LOAN PROVIDED BY HIS ENERGY DEPARTMENT USING HIS STIMULUS MONEY "NOT OUR PROGRAM"

OBAMA AGAIN BLAMES OTHERS FOR HIS FAILURES

WASHINGTON, MARCH 22, 2012 – In a recent interview, President Obama had this to say about Solyndra: “This was not our program, per se.” In 2010, President Obama visited Solyndra to highlight his support for Solyndra saying, “When it’s completed in a few months, Solyndra expects to hire a thousand workers to manufacture solar panels and sell them across America and around the world.  And this in turn will generate business for companies throughout our country who will create jobs supplying this factory with parts and materials.” Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, quickly countered this ridiculous claim that Solyndra was not the Administration’s program.

Said Stearns, “This investigation has uncovered that top officials in the Obama White House were deeply involved in the Solyndra loan guarantee, including Larry Summers, Carol Browner, Ron Klain, Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, Jim Messina, Dan Pfeiffer, Jay Carney, and Cecilia Munoz.  Records also show that Solyndra executives and investors had ready access to the West Wing of the White House. The Solyndra loan guarantee was rushed through to closing by the Obama Administration for political purposes, ignoring numerous red flags regarding its financial problems, including one projection by his own Office of Management and Budget in 2009 that Solyndra would run out of cash in September of 2011, which is exactly what happened.  The $535 million in taxpayer funding committed to Solyndra came from the President’s stimulus bill – Solyndra is a cornerstone of the President’s energy agenda.”