Press Releases

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement today regarding a letter he is sending, along with more than 50 of his colleagues, to President Obama asking him to direct the Department of Justice to file an appearance on behalf of American taxpayers in Solyndra’s bankruptcy proceeding for the purpose of opposing bonuses requested by the company:

“The Obama Administration approved a $535 million loan guarantee to the solar energy company Solyndra on September 4, 2009.  Last February, the Department of Energy made the decision to subordinate $75 million of the Solyndra loan – putting taxpayers in second place to other creditors. In September 2011, Solyndra filed for bankruptcy.

“No matter how we arrived at this point and setting aside political disagreements concerning Solyndra, the simple fact is that the American taxpayers should not be footing the bill for bonuses for Solyndra employees. The American taxpayers are one of the chief creditors in Solyndra’s bankruptcy.  This request by Solyndra to pay remaining ‘key’ employees bonuses of up to $50,000 does not make sense. Despite claims that bonuses are needed to retain employees, in reality, employee retention has little impact on what assets the American taxpayers will recover from the Solyndra fiasco. I urge President Obama to oppose these bonuses on behalf of the American taxpayers.”

Note: The full text of the letter follows below:

January 19, 2012
 
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
 
Dear Mr. President,

In light of recent reports surrounding its bankruptcy proceeding, we are writing regarding Solyndra’s request to pay bonuses of up to $50,000 to remaining “key” employees.

Attorneys for Solyndra claim that these bonuses are necessary to retain essential employees in conjunction with the ongoing effort to sell the company and its assets.  However, Solyndra is not likely to be sold as a turnkey operation and reopened in a similar capacity by a new owner.  Because the residual value of Solyndra centers on its real estate and intellectual property holdings, employee retention has little actual bearing on the amount potentially recoverable by Solyndra’s creditors, chief among them American taxpayers.

No matter how we arrived at this moment and setting aside political disagreements concerning Solyndra, the simple fact is that American taxpayers should not be footing the bill for bonuses for employees of Solyndra. We respectfully request that you direct your Department of Justice to file an appearance on behalf of American taxpayers in Solyndra’s bankruptcy proceeding for the purpose of opposing these bonuses.

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