Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich), a leading GOP critic of the Obama administration’s loans to Solyndra, pressed the Energy Department in 2009 to back a Michigan solar firm that filed for bankruptcy this week.
In a Dec. 2009 letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Upton and the rest of the Michigan delegation pressed the department to issue loan guarantees for a slew of energy projects. Included on the list was United Solar Ovonic, which was seeking a taxpayer-backed loan guarantee to produce rooftop solar panels.
“We believe these applications are worthy of serious consideration by the Energy Department,” the Michigan lawmakers wrote in the letter.
Upton’s letter underscores the fact that Republicans, many of whom have pummeled the administration over the Solyndra controversy, pressed the Energy Department to back clean-energy projects in their home states.
Does this surprise anyone?