Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017
Floor Speech
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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise to offer a commonsense amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill that I would think all Members can support.
First, I want to thank Chairman Simpson for his work on this legislation and for continuing to prioritize the needs of the Nation's harbors and waterways.
One of the most important responsibilities of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee is to conduct oversight of the DOE programs under the committee's jurisdiction, Mr. Chairman.
This includes the DOE Loan Programs Office. Our commitment to rigorous oversight has led us to request that this office provide us with their internal watch list, which describes each loan in their current portfolio that DOE has determined to have existing or potential challenges that may impact repayment or to be at risk of default. Can you say ``Solyndra,'' Mr. Chairman? This request was made in December, and, to date, the Department of Energy has refused.
The DOE Loan Guarantee Program has a track record of failed loans. In March, reports surfaced that a solar power company with $1.6 billion in taxpayer loan guarantees could fail to meet its contractual obligations and be shut down. This is the kind of potential failure, Mr. Chairman, that taxpayers can least afford. Full congressional oversight of this program is absolutely necessary. The DOE has no justification for withholding this list from Congress.
My amendment, Mr. Chairman, would reduce the program's administrative budget by $7 million of Treasury funds, but leave in place the $30 million the DOE collects from fees generated by existing loan guarantee recipients. These fees are used to monitor and oversee the existing loan guarantee portfolio.
In the past year, DOE has announced several new loan solicitations. However, the Department's failure to respond to a congressional inquiry leaves us seeing red. That is what is wrong with our budget. Now the deficit is in the red.
This requires us to act to protect taxpayer funds, Mr. Chairman. This amendment would simply prevent the Department from issuing new loans until it has complied with our investigation and provides the requested documents to our committee.
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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?
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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, in my district on the Gulf Coast of Texas, which is laden with energy--and I agree with Mr. Schiff of California that energy is a national security issue--we have to have agencies that are focused on energy, on programs, on loan guarantees, where Americans get the most bang for their buck.
These agencies must be accountable. They have to understand that Congress has to be in the driver's seat and is in the driver's seat. We need to hold them accountable. They need to provide us with that list.
While I appreciate my colleague from Idaho's willingness to work with us to make sure that the agency complies, I appreciate the gentlewoman's comments. We are going to have to get their attention. They have fees to continue to run their program that they collect from those companies that they actually make the loan guarantees to.
I have to insist that we get their attention. My colleagues in the 14th Congressional District of the State of Texas want us to rein in some of these agencies and make them accountable to the elected representatives of the American people. So I have to insist that I push forward with this amendment.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
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