Solyndra: House Panel to Subpoena White House

A House panel on Thursday decided to subpoena the White House over documents related to loans for Solyndra, a solar power company that filed for bankruptcy several months ago.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee panel voted 14–9 along party lines to subpoena high-level officials in the Obama administration, according to The Washington Post.

Solyndra received a more than $500 million federal loan, but ultimately filed for bankruptcy protection.

“Sadly, despite our outreach, the White House still refuses to turn over internal Solyndra-related communications,” subcommittee head Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Oversight and Investigations subcommittee chairman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the two representatives had “exercised extraordinary restraint and patience” for the past several months but ultimately had to go through with the vote.

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said the vote marked a “sad day” for the subcommittee because it constituted “an act of irresponsible partisanship,” according to the Post. She said the panel had never subpoenaed the White House before and that the Obama administration had already given thousands of documents to the panel.