Internal Watchdog Urges Biden’s Green Loans Office To Stop Working On New Loans Amid Conflict Of Interest Concerns
Nick Pope
Contributor
December 17, 2024
An internal federal watchdog called on the Biden administration’s green loans office to stop working on new deals in a Tuesday letter, citing concerns that the office has insufficiently managed potential conflicts of interest in its work.
Department of Energy (DOE) Inspector General Teri Donaldson wrote to Under Secretary of Energy for Infrastructure David Crane on Tuesday to inform him of preliminary findings that the Loan Programs Office (LPO) does not keep track of conflict of interest disclosures or waiver requests for its loans. Donaldson also said the LPO should “put into abeyance all loan and loan guarantee packages” until LPO can ensure that all appropriate safeguards are being observed. The LPO has been on a tear since President-elect Donald Trump won the election on Nov. 5, locking in several major loans and reportedly hustling to seal others in the transition period. This, over the protests of Republicans who believe the office’s lame duck lending bonanza flies in the face of the electorate, whose will was expressed on Election Day.
“Despite the risks and conflicts that could arise if the LPO contracts with contractors that also work for prospective borrowers, the [Office of the Inspector General (OIG)] audit team was surprised to learn that the LPO does not ensure that contracting officers and contracting officers’ representatives track third-party experts,” Donaldson’s memo states. “For example, for the 18 projects reviewed by the OIG, the LPO Technical Division was able to provide the OIG with the name of the applicant’s third-party engineering experts for only 3 of the 18 projects.” (RELATED: House Republicans Threaten To Slap Biden’s Green Energy Loan Czar With Subpoena)
https://dailycaller.com/2024/12/17/internal-watchdog-urges-bidens-green-loans-office-to-stop-working-on-new-loans-amid-conflict-of-interest-concerns/
