E2-Wire

OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Republicans press White House counsel on Solyndra

by Ben Geman - 10/05/11 10:56 PM ET

The letter to Ruemmler from House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), a top lieutenant, notes disagreements between the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Energy Department about Solyndra’s condition.

“Yet, decisions were made to stand behind the guarantee, resulting in the President’s visit to the company in May 2010 and the decision to restructure the deal and subordinate the taxpayer funds in early 2011,” states the Oct. 5 letter, which says the documents are needed to “better understand” the White House’s involvement.

Click here, here and here for more on recently released messages among administration officials, which include 2010 messages among White House aides including senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Ron Klain, Vice President Biden’s then-chief of staff.

{mosads}Stearns, in a statement Wednesday evening, faulted President Obama’s defense of the Solyndra financing earlier this week.

“While the President claims ‘hindsight is always 20/20’ and the loan went ‘through the regular review process,’ the facts tell a much different story with some of the loudest alarm bells on Solyndra’s viability coming from within his very own administration,” said Stearns, head of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee.

The letter asks for the documents by Oct. 14.

White House spokesman Jay Carney defended the loan guarantee program Wednesday.

“The reason why you’re backing up these loans is because there’s no guarantee of success, but you believe, as a matter of policy, that these investments are worthwhile because you believe that the industries represented by these investments are essential to the economic future of the country,” he said.

NEWS BITES

House Republicans to revive attacks on offshore permitting: House Natural Resources Committee Republicans signaled Wednesday that criticism of the Interior Department’s offshore drilling oversight isn’t going away anytime soon.

The panel has scheduled an Oct. 12 hearing on the “lingering economic impacts” of the temporary ban on deepwater drilling that followed the BP oil spill.

The hearing will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the lifting of the formal moratorium — a ban that Republicans, oil-state Democrats and industry groups called too aggressive.

Permitting, under tougher safety rules, began again early this year, but GOP and industry critics say Interior should go faster.

“This hearing will provide an opportunity to hear from Gulf Coast residents and businesses about the economic challenges they are still facing one year after Gulf of Mexico energy production was supposed to resume,” Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) said in a statement.

White House moves to speed up transmission projects: The Obama administration announced Wednesday that it would speed up permitting of seven transmission lines as part of an interagency effort to move such projects forward.

{mossecondads}“These projects will serve as pilot demonstrations of streamlined federal permitting and increased cooperation at the federal, state, and tribal levels,” the administration said. Click here for info on the projects.

“The President wants to get America working again. He is committed to cutting red tape and making immediate investments to put people to work modernizing our roads, bridges, airports, and energy systems,” Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said in a statement.

Senate Dems seek to counter House GOP on pollution rules: Senate Democrats are trying to make sure that House GOP-led bills to scuttle EPA air-pollution rules are dead on arrival.

The
House is slated to pass a pair of bills as soon as this week that would
delay and soften air toxics rules for industrial boilers and cement
plants, two of several measures aimed at thwarting EPA.

But
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
plans to release a report Thursday that casts EPA in a much better light
than Republicans are.

The report “sets the record straight about
the essential contributions that the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and landmark environmental laws have made in protecting public
health and promoting economic growth,” an advisory states.

Republicans
and some conservative Democrats call the regulations “job-killers,” and
the GOP is increasingly making EPA the focus of campaign messaging
against President Obama.

ON TAP THURSDAY

House panel to review EPA chemical assessments: A House Energy and Commerce Committee panel will hear from a senior EPA official and others at a hearing titled, “Chemical Risk Assessment: What Works for Jobs and the Economy?” More here.

Senate panel to probe uranium’s legacy: A Senate Environment and Public Works Committee panel will convene a hearing on “Federal Actions to Clean Up Contamination from Legacy Uranium Mining and Milling Operations.” More here.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT . . .

Here’s a quick roundup of Wednesday’s E2 stories:

— Administration weighed second Solyndra loan despite struggles, emails show

— Senate Dems’ jobs plan won’t eliminate oil tax breaks

— GOP says EPA cement rules undermine Obama’s call for infrastructure projects

— House Dems press Clinton to reject Keystone XL pipeline

— Interior could unveil gas ‘fracking’ rules within weeks

— Salazar to enviros: Give Obama credit on energy

— Groups sue to block Keystone pipeline

— Sen. Alexander targets energy subsidies, says political furor over climate might ease

Please send tips and comments to Ben Geman,
ben.geman@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com, and Andrew Restuccia,
arestuccia@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com.

This post was updated at 7:22 p.m.