U.S. House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee Republicans this week requested plans from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for implementing new loan programs and spending authority provided in both the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, as well as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed into law in November 2021.
The spending laws created an entire new category of loans eligible for DOE guarantees and appropriated almost $12 billion to subsidize the cost of the loan guarantees, according to an Oct. 11 letter sent to U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm by U.S Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), ranking member of the House E&C Committee, House E&C Energy Subcommittee Ranking Member Fred Upton (R-MI), and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Republican Leader U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA).
The members seek information about DOE’s specific plans to implement its new authorities and taxpayer subsidies through these loan programs, which includes guaranteeing upwards of $40 billion in loans for the deployment of new, first-of-a-kind technologies to a program that could commit to guarantee $350 billion in loans, largely for commercial energy technologies and infrastructure, even if such borrowers have ample private sector funding opportunities, according to their letter.
“The scope and scale of this expanded loan authority, related credit subsidies, and rapid four-year timeline for making commitments, raise questions about increased risks of waste, fraud and abuse, especially if the administration uses the program for its rush-to-green agenda,” the committee members wrote.
In a separate statement, Rep. McMorris Rodgers also pointed out that Americans cannot afford for President Joe Biden “to waste hundreds of billions of dollars on a political agenda that forces an expensive ‘green’ energy transition, threatens energy reliability, increases costs, and makes America reliant on the Chinese Communist Party for batteries and solar panels.”
The congresswoman vowed that House E&C Commerce Republicans “will hold DOE accountable for every cent spent to ensure taxpayer dollars are not wasted and the American people are protected.”
To assist the House E&C Committee in its oversight duties of the DOE’s loan programs, the members asked Secretary Granholm to provide them with information by Oct. 25 on several items, including a list of all current loan and loan guarantees in the Loan Program Office portfolio, and a list of all open funding and financing opportunities, by statutory category, according to their letter.
The Republicans also want Granholm to explain the DOE review process for loan guarantee decisions, including for approval by the secretary, and the role of independent departmental reviews and risk oversight, among other questions.