[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6213 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6213


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 19, 2012

   Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To limit further taxpayer exposure from the loan guarantee program 
     established under title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``No More Solyndras Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) President Obama took office amidst a weak economy and 
        high unemployment, yet he remained committed to advancing an 
        expansive ``green jobs'' agenda that received substantial 
        funding with the passage of the American Recovery and 
        Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly known as the stimulus 
        package.
            (2) The stimulus package allocated $90 billion to various 
        green energy programs, and related appropriations provided $47 
        billion for loan guarantees authorized under title XVII of the 
        Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.).
            (3) Such title XVII authorized the Secretary of Energy to 
        issue loan guarantees for projects that avoid, reduce, or 
        sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gases and employ new or 
        significantly improved technologies compared with commercial 
        technologies in service at the time the guarantee is issued.
            (4) Loan guarantees issued under such title XVII were 
        required to provide a reasonable prospect of repayment and were 
        expressly required to be subject to the condition that the 
        obligation is not subordinate to other financing.
            (5) The stimulus package expanded such title XVII by adding 
        section 1705 to include projects that use commercial technology 
        for renewable energy systems, electric power transmission 
        systems, and leading-edge biofuels projects and by 
        appropriating $6,000,000,000 in funding to pay the credit 
        subsidy costs for section 1705 loan guarantees for projects 
        that commence construction no later than September 30, 2011.
            (6) The Department of Energy, since the enactment of the 
        stimulus package, has issued loan guarantees under such title 
        XVII for 28 projects totaling $15,100,000,000 under the section 
        1705 program, and, according to the Government Accountability 
        Office, issued conditional loan guarantees for four projects 
        totaling $4,400,000,000 under the section 1705 program and four 
        projects totaling $10,600,000,000 under the section 1703 
        program.
            (7) Three of the first five companies that received section 
        1705 loan guarantees for their projects, Solyndra, Inc., Beacon 
        Power Corporation, and Abound Solar, Inc., have declared 
        bankruptcy.
            (8) The bankruptcy of the first section 1705 loan guarantee 
        recipient, Solyndra, Inc., could result in a loss to taxpayers 
        of over $530,000,000.
            (9) The investigation of the Solyndra loan guarantee by the 
        Committee on Energy and Commerce has demonstrated that the 
        review in 2009 of the Solyndra application by the Department of 
        Energy and the Office of Management and Budget was driven by 
        politics and ideology and divorced from economic reality where 
        the Department of Energy ignored concerns about the company's 
        financial condition and market for its products.
            (10) Despite an express provision in such title XVII 
        prohibiting subordination of the United States taxpayers' 
        financial interest, the Department of Energy restructured the 
        Solyndra loan guarantee in February 2011, resulting in the 
        taxpayers losing priority to Solyndra's investors in the event 
        of a default.
            (11) The Inspector General of the Department of the 
        Treasury concluded that it was unclear whether the Department 
        of Energy's consultation requirement with the Secretary of the 
        Treasury on the Solyndra loan guarantee was met; that the 
        consultation that did occur was rushed with the Department of 
        the Treasury expressing that ``the train really has left the 
        station on this deal''; and that no documentation was retained 
        as to how the Department of the Treasury's serious concerns 
        with the loan guarantee were addressed.
            (12) The Government Accountability Office concluded that 
        the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program under title 
        XVII has treated applicants inconsistently; that the Department 
        of Energy did not follow its own process for reviewing 
        applications and documenting its analysis and decisions, 
        increasing the likelihood of taxpayer exposure to financial 
        risk from a default; and that the Department of Energy's 
        absence of adequate documentation made it difficult for the 
        Department to defend its decisions on loan guarantees as sound 
        and fair.
            (13) A memorandum prepared for the President dated October 
        25, 2010, from Carol Browner, Ron Klain, and Larry Summers, 
        principal advisors to the President, noted the risk presented 
        by loan guarantee projects because most of the projects had 
        little ``skin in the game'' from private investors.
            (14) A January 2012 report conducted at the request of the 
        Chief of Staff to the President concluded that the portfolio of 
        projects the Department of Energy included in the loan program 
        were higher risk investments that private capital markets do 
        not generally invest in.
            (15) The Department of Energy's section 1705 program has 
        expired but the Department of Energy has announced that it will 
        continue to consider applications for loan guarantees under the 
        section 1703 program.
            (16) The Department of Energy has approximately 
        $34,000,000,000 in remaining lending authority to issue new 
        loan guarantees under the section 1703 program.

SEC. 3. SUNSET.

    (a) No New Applications.--The Secretary of Energy shall not issue 
any new loan guarantee pursuant to title XVII of the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.) for any application submitted to the 
Department of Energy after December 31, 2011.
    (b) Pending Applications.--With respect to any application 
submitted pursuant to section 1703 or 1705 of the Energy Policy Act of 
2005 before December 31, 2011:
            (1) No guarantee shall be made until the Secretary of the 
        Treasury has provided to the Secretary of Energy a written 
        analysis of the financial terms and conditions of the proposed 
        loan guarantee, pursuant to section 1702(a) of the Energy 
        Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16512(a)).
            (2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall transmit the 
        written analysis required under paragraph (1) to the Secretary 
        of Energy not later than 30 days after receiving the proposal 
        from the Secretary of Energy.
            (3) Before making a guarantee under such title XVII, the 
        Secretary of Energy shall take into consideration the written 
        analysis made by the Secretary of the Treasury under paragraph 
        (1).
            (4) If the Secretary of Energy makes a guarantee that is 
        not consistent with the written analysis provided by the 
        Secretary of the Treasury under paragraph (1), not later than 
        30 days after making such guarantee the Secretary of Energy 
        shall transmit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 
        Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
        Resources of the Senate a written explanation of any material 
        inconsistencies.
    (c) Transparency.--
            (1) Reports to congress.--Not later than 60 days after 
        making a guarantee as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary 
        of Energy shall transmit to the Committee on Energy and 
        Commerce and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of 
        the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 
        Natural Resources of the Senate a report that includes 
        information regarding--
                    (A) the review and decisionmaking process utilized 
                by the Secretary in making the guarantee;
                    (B) the terms of the guarantee;
                    (C) the recipient; and
                    (D) the technology and project for which the loan 
                guarantee will be used.
            (2) Protecting confidential business information.--A report 
        under paragraph (1) shall provide all relevant information, but 
        the Secretary shall take all necessary steps to protect 
        confidential business information with respect to the recipient 
        of the loan guarantee and the technology used.

SEC. 4. RESTRUCTURING OF LOAN GUARANTEES.

    With respect to any restructuring of the terms of a loan guarantee 
issued pursuant to title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the 
Secretary of Energy shall consult with the Secretary of the Treasury 
regarding any restructuring of the terms and conditions of the loan 
guarantee, including any deviations from the financial terms of the 
loan guarantee.

SEC. 5. RESTATING THE PROHIBITION ON SUBORDINATION.

    Section 1702(d)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 
16512(d)(3)) is amended by striking ``is not subordinate'' and 
inserting ``, including any reorganization, restructuring, or 
termination thereof, shall not at any time be subordinate''.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS AND CIVIL PENALTIES.

    (a) In General.--Any Federal official who is responsible for the 
issuance of a loan guarantee under title XVII of the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 in a manner that violates the requirements of such title or of 
this Act shall be--
            (1) subject to appropriate administrative discipline 
        provided for under title 5 of the United States Code, or any 
        other applicable Federal law, including, when circumstances 
        warrant, suspension from duty without pay or removal from 
        office; and
            (2) personally liable for a civil penalty in an amount of 
        at least $10,000 but not more than $50,000 for each violation.
    (b) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``Federal 
official'' means--
            (1) an individual serving in a position in level I, II, 
        III, IV, or V of the Executive Schedule, as provided in 
        subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code; and
            (2) an individual serving in a Senior Executive Service 
        position, as provided in subchapter II of chapter 31 of title 
        5, United States Code.

SEC. 7. GAO STUDY OF FEDERAL SUBSIDIES IN ENERGY MARKETS.

    (a) In General.--The Comptroller General shall conduct a study of 
the Federal subsidies in energy markets provided from fiscal year 2003 
through fiscal year 2012.
    (b) Focus.--The study required under subsection (a) shall have 
particular focus on Federal subsidies in energy markets provided in 
support of--
            (1) electricity production, transmission, and consumption;
            (2) transportation fuels and infrastructure;
            (3) energy-related research and development; and
            (4) facilities that manufacture energy-related components.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate a report that describes the results of the 
study conducted under subsection (a), including an identification and 
quantification of--
            (1) costs to the United States Treasury;
            (2) impacts on United States energy security;
            (3) impacts on electricity prices, including any potential 
        negative pricing impact on wholesale electricity markets;
            (4) impacts on transportation fuel prices;
            (5) impacts on private energy-related industries not 
        benefitting from Federal subsidies in energy markets;
            (6) any Federal subsidies in energy markets that are 
        provided to foreign persons or corporations; and
            (7) subsidies and direct financial interest any of the 15 
        foreign countries with the largest gross domestic product are 
        providing to support energy markets in their respective 
        countries.
    (d) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``Federal 
subsidies'' means Federal grants, direct loans, loan guarantees, and 
tax credits, and other programmatic activities targeted at energy 
markets and related sectors, relating to specific energy technologies.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 14, 2012.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.