No More Solyndras Act' Unnecessarily Damaging

The Hill

As Congress seeks to protect taxpayer investment as part of a renewable energy program that fosters innovation and job creation, they have come up short with the “˜No More Solyndras Act.’ While the DOE Loan Guarantee Program can be improved and the taxpayer certainly deserves accountability, the de facto consequences of this bill are unnecessarily damaging to business and go far beyond reasonable reforms.

The DOE Load Guarantee Program has experienced several recent setbacks, but Solyndra is not indicative of the program writ large. On the contrary, the program has outperformed the expectations of the bipartisan Congress that created it in 2005, only recently seeing several companies stumble in the wake of difficult global economic forces. The 2005 Congress was well aware of future uncertainty, and even appropriated a fund designated to cover any losses. Today, 95% of that fund is still available to help protect the taxpayer from outlying cases like Solyndra.