WASHINGTON, DC - The Obama administration’s Office of Management and Budget has failed to comply with the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subpoena seeking documents relating to the Department of Energy’s issuance of a loan guarantee to Solyndra, Inc. OMB is responsible for reviewing and approving the Credit Subsidy Costs of all DOE loan guarantees. Dating back to a March 14 request, the Committee leaders have pressed the OMB for key documents and information concerning the review of the Solyndra loan guarantee, but OMB has refused to produce the documents. The committee has exercised extraordinary patience, waiting until July 14 to issue the subpoena, which set a deadline for noon on July 22. The committee is demanding that all documents be provided by 9:00am, Monday, July 25.
“Despite the subpoena’s clear instructions and generous seven day deadline to produce the documents, OMB has yet to deliver a single page," said Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-FL). “I am mindful that OMB Director Lew and his colleagues are engaged in work on the important debt ceiling issue, but a Congressional subpoena demands prompt and respectful compliance. The entire reason that we were forced to issue the subpoena was OMB’s recalcitrance. For an administration that parades around the banner of transparency, they have been anything but forthcoming. What is the Obama administration trying to hide as their actions suggest they do not want the facts of the Solyndra loan to come to light? The public and Congress have a right to know if billions of taxpayer dollars are being invested wisely."
