IB 
Union Calendar No. 470 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6213 
[Report No. 112–652, Part I] 
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 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 
Additional sponsors: Mr. CASSIDY and Mr. BENISHEK 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 
Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology discharged; committed to 
the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and or-
dered to be printed 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 26, 2012] 
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A BILL 
To limit further taxpayer exposure from the loan guarantee 
program established under title XVII of the Energy Pol-
icy Act of 2005. 
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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’’. 
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 appro-
priations provided $47 billion for loan guarantees au-
thorized 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. 
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(4) Loan guarantees issued under such title XVII 
were required to provide a reasonable prospect of re-
payment 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 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 guaran-
tees 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 received 
section 1705 loan guarantees for their projects, 
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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 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 Of-
fice of Management and Budget was driven by poli-
tics 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 En-
ergy restructured the Solyndra loan guarantee in Feb-
ruary 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 
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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 ad-
dressed. 
(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 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 re-
quest of the Chief of Staff to the President concluded 
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that the portfolio of projects the Department of En-
ergy included in the loan program were higher risk 
investments that private capital markets do not gen-
erally 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 appli-
cations for loan guarantees under the section 1703 
program. 
(16) The Department of Energy has approxi-
mately $34,000,000,000 in remaining lending author-
ity 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 ap-
plication 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 provided to the Secretary 
of Energy a written analysis of the financial terms 
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and conditions of the proposed loan guarantee, pursu-
ant 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 consid-
eration 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 pro-
vided by the Secretary of the Treasury under para-
graph (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 expla-
nation of any material inconsistencies. 
(c) TRANSPARENCY.— 
(1) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 
days after making a guarantee as provided in sub-
section (b), the Secretary of Energy shall transmit to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 
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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 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. RESTRUCTURING OF LOAN GUARANTEES. 
With respect to any restructuring of the terms of a loan 
guarantee issued pursuant to title XVII of the Energy Pol-
icy 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 guar-
antee. 
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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 sub-
ordinate’’ 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 respon-
sible 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 dis-
cipline including, when circumstances warrant, sus-
pension from duty without pay or removal from of-
fice; 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 pro-
vided in subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 5, United 
States Code; and 
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(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 con-
duct a study of the Federal subsidies in energy markets pro-
vided 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 con-
sumption; 
(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 of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat-
ural Resources of the Senate a report that describes the re-
sults of the study conducted under subsection (a), including 
an identification and quantification of— 
(1) costs to the United States Treasury; 
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(2) impacts on United States energy security; 
(3) impacts on electricity prices, including any 
potential negative pricing impact on wholesale elec-
tricity markets; 
(4) impacts on transportation fuel prices; 
(5) impacts on private energy-related industries 
not benefitting from Federal subsidies in energy mar-
kets; 
(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 domes-
tic 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 pro-
grammatic activities targeted at energy markets and related 
sectors, relating to specific energy technologies. 
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Union Calendar No. 470 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6213 
[Report No. 112–652, Part I] 
A BILL 
To limit further taxpayer exposure from the loan 
guarantee program established under title XVII 
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 
Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
with an amendment 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology dis-
charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union and ordered to be 
printed 
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