[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4790-4791]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      ATVM LOAN PROGRAM AMENDMENT

  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I am thankful the Senate is taking up 
the appropriations bills. The appropriations process is the only way 
citizens can truly hold their elected representatives accountable. It 
also allows the American people to see just what the priorities are for 
the Senate.
  Through my votes upon appropriations bills, I have to decide which 
government programs to prioritize and which government programs need to 
be cut. These are tough choices, but Nebraskans sent me to Washington 
to make these hard decisions.
  Again, I am hopeful that the Senate is taking up these bills and that 
we can make important spending decisions on behalf of the American 
people. That is why I am proud to join Senators Coats, Toomey, and 
Flake to submit an amendment that targets what I see is overspending in 
the Energy and Water appropriations bill.
  This amendment would wind down the Department of Energy's troubled 
Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program. The ATVM 
Program was designed to provide loans for businesses that produce fuel-
efficient, advanced-technology vehicles and components in the United 
States. The program was created in 2007. In 2009, Congress appropriated 
$7.5 billion in subsidies to cover $25 billion in loans authorized 
under that program.
  Unfortunately, as Senator Coats and Senator Toomey have pointed out, 
this program has struggled for many years. The record speaks for 
itself. Take Fisker Automotive as an example. In April of 2010, Fisker 
received a loan through the ATVM program for the purpose of producing 
two lines of plug-in hybrid vehicles at its plant in Wilmington, DE. In 
2011, because Fisker was not meeting its performance targets, the DOE 
suspended its original loan of $529 million.
  Unfortunately, $192 million in taxpayer dollars had already been 
loaned to the company. Fisker halted operations, and they filed for 
bankruptcy in November of 2013. The company's ATVM loan was sold at 
auction for $25 million and the DOE was able to recoup $28 million from 
an escrow account. However, this loan still resulted in a $139-million 
loss for taxpayers.
  In February of 2014, Fisker's assets were auctioned to a Chinese 
manufacturer, Wanxiang, through the resulting bankruptcy proceedings. 
This was one of the many failures resulting from the ATVM Program.
  In 2013, a Government Accountability Office report found few auto 
manufacturers and program applicants willing to participate in the 
program due to high costs and the limited benefits. As a result, the 
Secretary of Energy announced a number of changes to the ATVM Program 
in April of 2014. Not a single new loan has been approved since the 
announcement of these revisions.
  This program is a clear example of waste. It reveals the dangers of 
allowing our government to pick winners and losers in the private 
sector. That is why I am here today to join Senators Coats and Toomey 
and Flake in offering an amendment that would prohibit new loan 
applications from being reviewed if they are not submitted by the date 
of this bill's enactment. Furthermore, our amendment would prohibit any 
loan credit subsidies after the end of fiscal year 2020. Through these 
provisions, we can responsibly wind down a very ineffective program.
  Our national debt continues to grow, and it now exceeds $19 trillion. 
According to the March 2016 report of the Congressional Budget Office, 
annual deficits will exceed $1 trillion in 2022 and every year 
thereafter. This makes the need for commonsense provisions like ours 
all the more urgent. We simply cannot afford to continue spending money 
on programs that are not effective.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for this sensible amendment when it is 
brought up for a vote.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Perdue). The clerk will call the roll.

[[Page 4791]]

  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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