I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6213 
To limit further taxpayer exposure from the loan guarantee program 
established under title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2012 
Mr. UPTON (for himself, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. PITTS, Mr. TERRY, Mr. STIVERS, 
Mr. LATHAM, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. GINGREY of Georgia, 
Mrs. ELLMERS, Mr. LANCE, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. WHITFIELD, 
Mr. BURGESS, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. POMPEO, Mrs. 
MYRICK, Mr. HARPER, Mr. FLAKE, and Mr. OLSON) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To limit further taxpayer exposure from the loan guarantee 
program established under title XVII of the Energy Pol-
icy Act of 2005. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No More Solyndras 
Act’’. 
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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 pack-
age. 
(2) The stimulus package allocated $90 billion 
to various green energy programs, and related ap-
propriations 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 green-
house gases and employ new or significantly im-
proved technologies compared with commercial tech-
nologies 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 sub-
ject to the condition that the obligation is not subor-
dinate to other financing. 
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(5) The stimulus package expanded such title 
XVII by adding section 1705 to include projects that 
use commercial technology for renewable energy sys-
tems, electric power transmission systems, and lead-
ing-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 enact-
ment of the stimulus package, has issued loan guar-
antees under such title XVII for 28 projects totaling 
$15,100,000,000 under the section 1705 program, 
and, according to the Government Accountability Of-
fice, 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 re-
ceived 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. 
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(9) The investigation of the Solyndra loan guar-
antee 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 driv-
en by politics and ideology and divorced from eco-
nomic reality where the Department of Energy ig-
nored concerns about the company’s financial condi-
tion 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 En-
ergy restructured the Solyndra loan guarantee in 
February 2011, resulting in the taxpayers losing pri-
ority to Solyndra’s investors in the event of a de-
fault. 
(11) The Inspector General of the Department 
of the Treasury concluded that it was unclear wheth-
er the Department of Energy’s consultation require-
ment with the Secretary of the Treasury on the 
Solyndra loan guarantee was met; that the consulta-
tion 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 docu-
mentation was retained as to how the Department of 
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the Treasury’s serious concerns with the loan guar-
antee were addressed. 
(12) The Government Accountability Office con-
cluded that the Department of Energy Loan Guar-
antee Program under title XVII has treated appli-
cants inconsistently; that the Department of Energy 
did not follow its own process for reviewing applica-
tions and documenting its analysis and decisions, in-
creasing the likelihood of taxpayer exposure to finan-
cial risk from a default; and that the Department of 
Energy’s absence of adequate documentation made 
it difficult for the Department to defend its deci-
sions 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 guar-
antee 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 con-
cluded 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. 
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(15) The Department of Energy’s section 1705 
program has expired but the Department of Energy 
has announced that it will continue to consider ap-
plications for loan guarantees under the section 
1703 program. 
(16) The Department of Energy has approxi-
mately $34,000,000,000 in remaining lending au-
thority to issue new loan guarantees under the sec-
tion 1703 program. 
SEC. 3. SUNSET. 
(a) NO NEW APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary of En-
ergy 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 De-
partment 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 Sec-
retary of the Treasury has reviewed the proposed 
guarantee and made a written recommendation to 
the Secretary of Energy on the merits of the guar-
antee. 
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(2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall trans-
mit the written recommendation 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 con-
sideration the written recommendation made by the 
Secretary of the Treasury under paragraph (1). 
(4) If the Secretary of Energy makes a guar-
antee that does not conform to the written rec-
ommendation made 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 of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
Senate a written explanation of the Secretary’s rea-
sons for deviating from the Secretary of the Treas-
ury’s recommendation. 
(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 trans-
mit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 
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the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a re-
port that includes information regarding— 
(A) the review and decisionmaking process 
utilized by the Secretary in making the guar-
antee; 
(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 IN-
FORMATION.—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. RESTATING THE RESTRUCTURING OF LOAN GUAR-
ANTEES. 
With respect to any restructuring of the terms of a 
loan guarantee issued pursuant to title XVII of the En-
ergy Policy Act of 2005, the Secretary of Energy— 
(1) shall consult with the Secretary of the 
Treasury regarding any restructuring of the terms 
and conditions of the loan guarantee, including any 
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