WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA) expressed concern today over news that the Department of Energy has seized $21 million from Fisker Automotive. Fisker was the recipient of a $529 million federal loan but DOE decided to freeze payments on the loan after the company showed signs of trouble in 2011. With its imminent bankruptcy, Fisker joins a lengthy list of DOE failures.
“Fisker’s troubles are a sad reminder of the Department of Energy’s loan failures. The jobs we were promised never materialized." said Upton and Murphy. “Thankfully, because of our aggressive oversight work and the problems we uncovered with the DOE loan program’s office, the administration stopped sending the checks to Fisker when it became clear the company was in trouble. While we are pleased to see DOE taking action to protect taxpayer dollars, we remain concerned whether this loan was approved in the best interests of taxpayers. This deal has been plagued with problems and the question remains: should Fisker have received the half billion dollar loan in the first place?"
Fisker is just the latest of the Obama Department of Energy’s failures:
* Abound Solar - The solar manufacturer received a $400 million DOE stimulus loan guarantee - BANKRUPT
* Solyndra - The solar manufacturer received a $535 million DOE stimulus loan guarantee - BANKRUPT
* Beacon Power - The solar company received a $43 million DOE stimulus loan guarantee - BANKRUPT
* Ener1 - The battery maker, #67 on the White House list of 100 Projects that are Changing America, received a $118.5 million stimulus grant - BANKRUPT
* A123 - The battery maker received a $249 million DOE stimulus grant - LAYOFFS
