Amodei votes for 'No More Solyndras Act'

IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brian Baluta, 202-225-6155

September 14, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-2) today voted in favor of H.R. 6213, the No More Solyndras Act. The bill would prohibit the Department of Energy (DOE) from issuing new loan guarantees through a failed stimulus program. DOE lost hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars through loan guarantees to high-risk companies with political-ties to the Obama Administration that later went bankrupt, including Solyndra in California, Beacon Power in Massachusetts, and Abound Solar in Colorado.

"Government should not be in the business of gambling the taxpayers' money on risky bets that in some cases seem to have been on the basis of political connections to the administration rather than merit," said Amodei. "Nobody is anti-green, but the DOE has provided $1.5 billion in loan guarantees to projects in Nevada alone. And while that was good news for the construction industry here, it created only 137 long-term jobs throughout the state. That’s $11 million per job for a country that is $16 trillion in debt.”

In addition to the prohibition on new loan guarantees, the bill would require a review of past and current loan guarantees to evaluate costs, benefits, and whether the money was provided to foreign persons or corporations.

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