House subcommittee chair calls for Chu's ouster following Solyndra testimony

November 18, 2011 |

In Washington, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that he did not feel political pressure to issue a loan guarantee to Solyndra, and took personal responsibility for what he said was a decision made on the merits. “Certainly knowing what I know now, we’d say `no,'” Chu said told the investigations subcommittee. “But you don’t make decisions fast-forwarding two years in the future and then go back. I wish I could do that.”

“I want to be clear,” Chu said. “Over the course of Solyndra’s loan guarantee, I did not make any decision based on political considerations. My decision to guarantee a loan to Solyndra was based on the analysis of experienced professionals and on the strength of the information they had available to them at the time.”

However, House members were critical after Chu acknowledged that he was unaware of many key details surrounding the loan. For example, problems with the company, or predictions by Energy Department staff in 2009 that the company was facing bleak cash-flow conditions.

Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., chairman of the subcommittee, said after the hearings, “I just think he has failed the test. The fact that he’s unaware of so many things makes me think that he’s not the best person for the position.” Stearns called for Chu’s ouster.

Category: Policy

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