2015: Schweikert Voted To Eliminating Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program As Part Of The FY 2016 Republican Study Committee Budget Resolution. In March 2015, Schweikert voted for eliminating the Title 17 Innovative program. According to the Republican Study Committee, "The Title 17 program provides loans to clean energy projects. This is the program that gave us the Solyndra scandal, with taxpayers losing more than $500 million after the administration gambled on a politically favored company. Eliminating this program beginning in FY 2016 would save the taxpayers $17 million per year in reduced administrative expenses alone." The underlying budget resolution would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "provide[d] for $2.804 trillion in new budget authority in fiscal 2016, not including off-budget accounts. The substitute would call for reducing spending by $7.1 trillion over 10 years compared to the Congressional Budget Office baseline." The vote was on the substitute amendment to a Budget Resolution. The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 132 to 294. [House Vote 138, 3/25/15; Republican Study Committee, FY 2016 Budget; Congressional Quarterly, 3/25/15; Congress.gov, H. Amdt. 83; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 27]
2014: Schweikert Voted To Defund The Energy Department's Loan Programs Office, Which Finances Private-Sector Clean Energy Projects Such As Wind, Solar, Carbon Capture And Advanced Technology Vehicles. In July 2014, Schweikert voted for an amendment to the FY 2015 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill that, according to Congressional Quarterly, "would bar the use of funds provided in the bill for the Energy Department Loan Program [sic] Office." The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 140 to 282. [House Vote 395, 7/10/14; Congressional Quarterly, 7/10/14; Congressional Actions, H. Amdt. 1032; Congressional Actions, H.R. 4923]
Energy Department Loan Programs Office (LPO) Provides Both Direct Loans And Loan Guarantees To Finance Clean Energy Projects. According to the Energy Department Loan Programs Office's website, "The Department of Energy's Loan Programs---administered by LPO---enable DOE to work with private companies and lenders to mitigate the financing risks associated with clean energy projects, and thereby encourage their development on a broader and much-needed scale. The Loan Programs consist of three separate programs managed by two offices, the Loan Guarantee Program Office (LGP) and the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program Office. LPO originates, guarantees, and monitors loans to support clean energy projects through these programs." [Energy Department LPO website, Viewed 8/19/14]
LPO Provides Financing For Projects Using New Or Improved Energy Sources, Implementing Greenhouse-Gas Emissions Capture or Reduction Technologies, Or Producing Advanced Technology Vehicles. According to the Energy Department Loan Programs Office's website, "The mission of LPO is to accelerate the domestic commercial deployment of innovative and advanced clean energy technologies at a scale sufficient to contribute meaningfully to the achievement of our national clean energy objectives---including job creation; reducing dependency on foreign oil; improving our environmental legacy; and enhancing American competitiveness in the global economy of the 21st century. LPO executes this mission by guaranteeing loans to eligible clean energy projects (i.e., agreeing to repay the borrower's debt obligation in the event of a default), and by providing direct loans to eligible manufacturers of advanced technology vehicles and components. [...] We finance the growth of these innovative clean energy technologies: Biomass, Hydrogen, Solar, Wind and Hydropower, Advanced Fossil Energy, Carbon Sequestration practices and technologies, Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Alternative Fuel Vehicles, Industry Energy Efficiency Projects, [and] Pollution Control Equipment." [Energy Department LPO website, Viewed 8/19/14]
Amendment's Sponsor Argued It Would Terminate "Embarrassment" Of A Program That Funded Solyndra And Countless Other Failures. According to the Congressional Record, Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), the amendment's sponsor, said, "[A]s you get on the plane you fly into San Jose [...] as you fly and drive south, you will see a huge building which was built with taxpayer money. This building is known as Solyndra, and the assets that were contained within were sold to the Chinese for 10 cents on a dollar. So our money, our taxpayer dollars, went to a program which failed. Again and again, you see the Energy Department investing and calling winners and losers; and I, for one, want to see a stop to the money that flows from the taxpayers into failed, nonproductive industries. This amendment simply eliminates the funding for a program which has already been demonstrated as an embarrassment, not just to our government, but actually to the administration. I think that, quite frankly, it is a simple amendment, and it would do great justice to the American taxpayers and would do great justice to America if we stop funding the Chinese technology through 'gimme' loan programs and selling our assets at 10 cents on a dollar." [Congressional Record, 7/10/14]
Amendment Opponent Argued That It Would Prevent The Energy Department From Overseeing And Monitoring The Loans It Had Already Issued Or Guaranteed. According to the Congressional Record, House Appropriations Committee chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) said, "I rise strongly to oppose the amendment of my friend. The funds my colleague seeks to remove are administrative costs that the Department of Energy needs to conduct oversight of its existing loan portfolio. The recent loan guarantee to create the first new nuclear facilities in over 30 years at the Vogtle plant in Georgia will create thousands of jobs and will need oversight to ensure funds are spent properly. In April, the Department made available $8 billion of loan guarantees to accelerate advanced fossil energy technologies on the cusp of development. These loan guarantees, among others, need administrative support for decades to come. Without those administrative costs, the Department would not be able to monitor risk, manage projects, or provide the proper financial analysis that a loan guarantee needs. These activities are essential to ensure that taxpayer funds are protected in the existing loan portfolio. For these reasons [...] I cannot support our colleague's amendment, and I urge Members to vote 'no.'" [Congressional Record, 7/10/14]