The Obama administration has ordered an independent review of Department of Energy loan guarantees in the wake of a congressional investigation into the Solyndra scandal, NBC News reports.
The administration said White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley “is directing that an independent analysis be conducted to evaluate the state of the Department of Energy loan portfolio and make recommendations to the Administration about how to improve the loan monitoring process. This review will focus on the current state of the loan portfolio and improvements to the monitoring program.” (RELATED: Energy Secretary Chu agrees to testify in Congress about Solyndra)
“And while we continue to take steps to make sure the United States remains competitive in the 21st century energy economy,” said Daley, “we must also ensure that we are strong stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
The news comes as the House Energy and Commerce Committee prepares to vote on whether to subpoena White House records concerning the loan, which was rushed to the company by DOE officials despite warnings the company was in trouble financially. The vote could happen as early as next week.
Daley has appointed former Treasury Department official Herb Allison to conduct the review. He is tasked with issuing a public report to the administration after a 60 day audit of DOE’s loan portfolio.