Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, prodded Interior Secretary Ken Salazar yesterday about his department’s role in the Obama administration’s green-energy push.
In a letter to Salazar, Sessions and Issa reminded the DOI head that more than six months have passed since they asked him for documents surrounding preferential treatment for certain energy companies.
Issa’ office said that Salazar’s department has only provided “a minimal amount of already publicly available information.”
“The information currently accessible to the public raises the question of whether these companies received approval to use federal lands and taxpayer monies based not on the best value for the American people but the political clout of the recipients,” Issa and Sessions said in a joint statement. “Given the taxpayer dollars at risk, at a time of fiscal crisis, Interior’s failure to provide answers is unacceptable. These questions warrant an expeditious and thorough response, and we intend to ensure we receive one.”
The document requests include all communications regarding BrightSource Energy’s Ivanpah project, which was flagged at a subcommittee hearing this month as potentially receiving White House favoritism.
“If you fail to comply fully with this request, we will have no other choice but to consider the use of compulsory process,” the letter warns Salazar.
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