As "Occupy" protesters filled streets in New York, Los Angeles and other cities, Congress was bearing down on the federally guaranteed loan to Solyndra. At a Congressional hearing, House Republicans interrogated Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, about the half-billion federal dollars spent on the solar-panel company before it collapsed. Solyndra, a California maker of high-tech solar panels, was personally endorsed by President Obama and Vice President Biden. It received a half-billion dollar federally guaranteed loan from Chu's department before going bankrupt and firing all of its 1100 employees. Did a billionaire fundraiser have undue influence with the Obama Administration? Is it a bad idea for government to pick winners? Are Republicans hypocritical to attack Solyndra when they've asked federal support for similar projects in their own Congressional districts?
Was Solyndra a "Clean Energy" Boondoggle?
Credits
Guests:
- Steven Mufson - Washington Post - @StevenMufson
- Daniel Stone - Newsweek - @danstone1
- Steve Ellis - Taxpayers for Common Sense
- Nancy Pfund - DBL Investors