The Treasury Department’s oversight role of a half-billion-dollar federal loan guarantee to Solyndra LLC was not sufficiently defined, the consultation that did occur was “rushed” and no records were kept as to how Treasury’s serious concerns with the loan were addressed, a report says.
The department’s Office of Inspector General, in a report this week, said inspectors who examined the $535 million Solyndra loan were given only one day to look at the company’s books before a press release was issued announcing the loan.
The 20-page report said investigators were not sure if the loan “met the intent of the applicable law and regulation” because Treasury’s “consultative role was not sufficiently defined.” It also noted that Treasury audited itself after “heightened media attention and congressional inquiries” surrounding the loan…
According to the report, the secretary of energy is authorized to make loan guarantees on terms and conditions determined by the department, after consultation with Treasury. In the case of Solyndra, the report said, Treasury was not consulted “prior to or concurrent with” Energy’s review process and that the consultation that did occur was rushed.
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