Steven Chu balks at apologizing for Solyndra loan guarantee

WASHINGTON -- Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the collapse of the taxpayer-backed solar panel manufacturer Solyndra was "very regrettable," but he declined to apologize for the Obama administration's decision to award the now-bankrupt company a $535 million loan guarantee.

During nearly five hours of questioning on Thursday from the House Energy subcommittee investigating Solyndra, Republican lawmakers grilled Chu about his decision to restructure the loan to the company earlier this year as the company was struggling. They also quizzed Chu about what he knew of Solyndra's political connections.

Under the loan restructuring deal Chu approved in February, taxpayer debt was put behind $75 million in new private investment. Republicans questioned the legality of placing private investor claims ahead of those by taxpayers and asked if he still had President Obama's backing after the decision. Chu called the restructuring terms legal.

"At that point, we had a half-completed factory, and we had two choices — we either had to stop the loan, which would've put Solyndra into immediate bankruptcy, or we could continue on contract of the loan to build the factory," said Chu, who said he acted on the advice of Energy Department counsel.

In the weeks since Solyndra's collapse, the Obama administration has appointed former Reagan and Clinton administration appointee Herb Allison to audit the entire loan guarantee program.

That, said Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., showed that Obama no longer has confidence in Chu. Stearns leads the subcommittee investigating Solyndra; he repeatedly asked Chu to apologize for the loan guarantee.

Republicans have suggested the California firm received the loan guarantee because of its ties to Obama, but they have yet to offer any evidence to prove it, said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.

George Kaiser, whose charitable foundation was a big investor in Solyndra, was a major contributor to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

Chu is the highest-ranking Obama administration official to appear before the panel since it opened its investigation of Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 31 .

"As the secretary of Energy, the final decisions on Solyndra were mine, and I made them with the best interest of the taxpayer in mind," Chu said.

Chu thanked Republican lawmakers in his prepared remarks for their broad support the loan guarantee program. He said the Energy Department received some 500 letters from members of Congress endorsing projects in their backyards. At least 30 Republican lawmakers wrote Chu seeking financing for clean-energy projects, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.