Rep. Diana DeGette

Released late last week, the report (pdf) by the DOE’s Advisory Board Subcommittee on Shale Gas Production (SEAB) concluded that “concerted and sustained action is needed to avoid excessive environmental impacts of shale gas production and the consequent risk of public opposition to its continuation and expansion.”

The seven-member SEAB panel released a draft in August that called for more industry transparency and disclosure of the chemicals used in the controversial drilling practice sometimes referred to as “fracking.” Critics say it can contaminate groundwater, which industry officials deny. The makeup of the panel previously had been criticized by scientists who felt it leaned too heavily toward industry interests.

DeGette and Reps. Henry Waxman and Edward Markey want to hear more about the findings in an open committee hearing.

“To date, the committee has not held a single hearing on the topic of hydraulic fracturing and natural gas development, despite the importance of natural gas to our energy future and widespread public concern about air and water pollution from natural gas production,” the three Dems wrote (pdf) Upton today. “The SEAB report is a good place to start. We request that you schedule a hearing on this issue as soon as possible.”

Fracking is mostly regulated by state agencies, including the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), which is holding a hearing on proposed new chemical disclosure rules next month.

NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and its political arm NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts Foundation began investigating Massachusetts CPCs last summer after the state began issuing “Choose Life” license plates, thus creating a new revenue source for CPCs.

According to the resulting report (PDF), undercover, in-person visits were made to 24 of the 30 CPCs operating in Massachusetts; staff researched the centers’ advertising and counseling procedures, as well as where they were getting most of their money. Among the CPCs visited, seven of them were affiliated with two of the country’s largest CPC networks -– Birthright International and Care Net; five belong to the state-wide network Pregnancy Care Center; and four are affiliated with A Woman’s Concern Pregnancy Resource Clinic, the largest CPC network in Massachusetts, which has since 2002 received millions in federal funds to produce an abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education program called “Healthy Futures” (PDF).

What the report aims to prove is that the CPCs’ impact is to “corrupt a pregnant woman’s decision-making process and delay her access to pregnancy-related care, whether she ultimately chooses abortion, adoption, or parenthood.” Much like the 2006 congressional investigation of federally funded pregnancy resource centers (PDF) commissioned by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), the Massachusetts report reveals volunteer staff at CPCs often gave women misleading or inaccurate information about pregnancy and abortion. A bulk of NARAL’s findings also deals with how these CPCs are funded and the political ties among their donors.

A snapshot of NARAL’s findings:

• CPCs outnumber women’s health care providers three to one: Western Massachusetts has at least six CPCs but one clinic that provides abortion services; Central Massachusetts has eight CPCs, one abortion clinic; Northeast and Metro Boston has five CPCs, three abortion clinics. ]

• NARAL’s undercover investigators reported that several of the CPCs used tactics to try to delay their decision regarding what to do with their unwanted pregnancies. Examples of such tactics include delaying and rescheduling appointments.

• More than one in four of the CPCs investigated, or 27 percent, told NARAL investigators pretending to be between six and 10 weeks pregnant that 50 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. Some investigators reported being told variations of “just because you are pregnant, doesn’t mean you’ll stay pregnant.” (According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), among women who know they are pregnant, the miscarriage rate is about 15 percent to 20 percent, but the miscarriage rate drops after a baby’s heart beat is detected. NIH also estimates that “up to half of all fertilized eggs die and are lost – aborted — spontaneously, usually before the woman knows she is pregnant.”)

• About 46 percent of the CPC websites link abortion with a risk of future infertility. Nearly one in three of the CPC’s websites stated that women are more likely to have a premature delivery in a future pregnancy if they have had an abortion. One in five CPCs investigated the commonly unaccepted idea that abortion is a direct cause of breast cancer.

• Investigators also reported hearing misleading, inaccurate or unfounded information about the ineffectiveness of contraception.

• Two out of three CPCs visited had a “religious influence,” reported investigators.

• Some of the CPCs investigated have been accused of false advertising about what services they offer. For example, Daybreak Pregnancy Resource Center in Boston have advertised for “abortion services” in online advertising, demonstrated in the report with a screen shot.

• Some of the advice given to NARAL investigators was considered “suspect.” One investigator was told, “You don’t need money to raise a child, just time and love.” Another, who told the CPC that she had been drinking heavily throughout her pregnancy, was told “new studies prove alcohol is not too harmful to a fetus.”

According to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, a “Choose Life” plate initially costs $40; $28 goes to Choose Life (there are additional costs to swap out an existing plate). The Registry of Motor Vehicles distributed approximately 2,000 plates between June 2010 and April 2011, raising approximately $80,000, according to Massachusetts Choose Life.

NARAL also points out that Natick, Mass.-based private charity Gerard Health Foundation privately funded A Woman’s Concern before the organization began receiving federal money. Gerard Health has also funded organizations that head up anti-abortion initiatives such as Focus on the Family and Live Action.

The NARAL Massachusetts report:

Naral Pcm Cpc Report 2011

Americans United for Life and other anti-abortion groups have had their sights set on Planned Parenthood for a while because some Planned Parenthood clinics offer legal abortion services, among other women’s health services. Even though public money does not go to the clinics’ abortion services (except for cases of rape and incest), anti-abortion groups have used the fact that Planned Parenthood receives public funding to foster outrage.

Most recently, the group successfully lobbied Congress to investigate Planned Parenthood hoping to force lawmakers to defund the clinics nationwide. Americans United wrote a report, which Planned Parenthood has called false and “ideologically driven,” and sent it to members of Congress.

Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala, capitulated. Stearns moved forward last month with the group’s plans and launched an investigation into the finances and policies of the chain of women’s health clinics.

Yoest said in a recent interview with The National Catholic Register that the bad economy has helped her group push forward its agenda:

Although pro-lifers have been critical of federal funding of Planned Parenthood for many years, Yoest thinks that the movement to defund the abortion provider may now be gathering momentum. The reason? The bad economy.

“The economic crisis gives traction for people to pay attention to how much money Planned Parenthood is getting from the government,” she said. “While the mainstream media may have the talking points about the need to support Planned Parenthood, economic concerns are real. Planned Parenthood gets $363 million a year. That’s a million dollars a day, and that’s an economic issue. We have nearly 10% unemployment, and we are subsidizing Planned Parenthood?”

…

AUL is trying to hammer home the economic aspect of support for Planned Parenthood during a period of economic hardship. When Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Diana DeGette of Colorado tried to prevent Florida Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns of the Energy and Commerce Committee from obtaining documents about Planned Parenthood’s use of federal funding, Yoest put out a release calling their effort “misguided partisanship that is replacing fiscal responsibility.” [Emphasis mine.]

An attorney for Americans United recently told The Florida Independent that the group sees defunding Planned Parenthood as a way of ending abortion around the country.

Women’s health advocates and members of Congress have been condemning the investigation since it was announced. Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz accused Republican colleagues “of launching a ‘burdensome and politically motivated, big-government investigation’ of Planned Parenthood.” Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., a ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, and Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said the investigation is part of a “Republican vendetta.”

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., issued a press release calling the investigation “needless and politically motivated.” She said that “instead of attacking unemployment, Republicans are waging a war against women.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called the investigation an “abusive witch hunt by Republicans” that is “an unconscionable waste of taxpayer dollars, and harassment of a trusted healthcare provider for millions of women and families in Connecticut and across the country,” in a recent press release.

Two weeks ago, Planned Parenthood received another blow. The House GOP unveiled a spending bill that would “eliminate the Title X family-planning program, ban federal funding to Planned Parenthood Federation of America (unless the organization ends its abortion services), redirect teen-pregnancy-prevention programming funds to abstinence-only sex-education programs and ban private insurance companies from covering abortion,” The American Independent reported.

Kellie Fiedorek, a staff attorney for Americans United for Life, tells The Florida Independent the group is pleased that a report she helped craft about Planned Parenthood has led to congressional action. The report was given to members of Congress in the hopes that lawmakers vote to defund Planned Parenthood. Fiedorek says Americans United sought to “document fraud and abuse” in Planned Parenthood as a tool for Congress to look into a possible investigation.

Planned Parenthood is frequently under attack by anti-abortion groups because some of the clinics provide legal abortions. Planned Parenthood has called Americans United’s report “ideologically driven.” The group has also said that many of the claims are either misleading or inaccurate.

Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala, who chairs a subcommittee on oversight and investigations, recently followed through with Americans United’s request and launched an investigation into Planned Parenthood’s finances and policies.

Women’s health advocates and members of Congress are condemning his actions. This week, Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz “accused Republican colleagues on Wednesday of launching a ‘burdensome and politically motivated, big-government investigation’ of Planned Parenthood.” Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., a ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee and Henry Waxman, D-Calif., have stated that the investigation is part of a “Republican vendetta.”

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., issued a press release calling the investigation “needless and politically motivated.” She said that “instead of attacking unemployment, Republicans are waging a war against women.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called the investigation an “abusive witch hunt by Republicans” that is “an unconscionable waste of taxpayer dollars, and harassment of a trusted healthcare provider for millions of women and families in Connecticut and across the country,” in a recent press release.

Americans United’s Fiedorek says these abuses “have been going on for 20 years,” and that Planned Parenthood is “ridden with abuse.” She claims the group has been “over-billing the government” for years.

“There are so many red flags,” she says.

In a recent email to supporters, Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards called the investigation “harassment and intimidation.” Richards said the investigation is “an effort to undercut Planned Parenthood and undermine Planned Parenthood health centers’ ability to provide essential care to the women, men, and teens who rely on them.”

This week, Planned Parenthood recieved another blow from Congress. The House GOP unveiled a spending bill on Thursday that would “eliminate the Title X family-planning program, ban federal funding to Planned Parenthood Federation of America (unless the organization ends its abortion services), redirect teen-pregnancy-prevention programming funds to abstinence-only sex-education programs and ban private insurance companies from covering abortion,” The American Independent reports.

Fiedorek attended the Care Net conference this week in Orlando, where she was among several voices expressing excitement over the recent anti-Planned Parenthood measures. Abby Johnson, also an attendee, even went as far to say that Planned Parenthood was “working with the devil.”

Stearns told our sister site, The Florida Independent, back in July that such an investigation was possible, after the release a report arguing that lawmakers should defund Planned Parenthood. The report was written by Americans United for Life, an anti-abortion group. As The Independent reported, Americans United called upon Congress to hold an investigation into Planned Parenthood’s finances and practices. While Planned Parenthood called the report false and “ideologically driven,” Stearns did not rule out launching an investigation.

Sarah Kliff of Politico reports that Stearns has already asked the president of Planned Parenthood to provide the committee with a range of documents.

According to the letter sent to Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, Stearn’s “committee has questions about the policies in place and actions undertaken by the [Planned Parenthood Federation of America] and its affiliates related to its use of federal funding and its compliance with federal restrictions on the funding of abortion.”

According to a recent statement from Planned Parenthood:

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) expressed disappointment that Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has put politics before lifesaving health care by launching what appears to be a politically motivated investigation and demanding an onerous amount of records from PPFA and its 83 affiliates, some going as far back as 13 years. …

“At a time when the American people need jobs, some members of Congress are instead misusing their political power to go after health care access for the most vulnerable women in the country,” said Richards. “We are certain that the millions of women and men who count on Planned Parenthood will make their voices heard and speak out, just as they did during the budget battle in the spring.” …

Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in a letter to Congressman Stearns, wrote, “We are aware of no predicate that would justify this sweeping and invasive request to Planned Parenthood. The HHS Inspector General and state Medicaid programs regularly audit Planned Parenthood and report publicly on their findings. These audits have not identified any pattern of misuse of federal funds, illegal activity, or other abuse that would justify a broad and invasive congressional investigation.”

Stearns has asked Planned Parenthood for a host of documents, including auditing records and written policies.

Stearns has disapproved of Planned Parenthood for some time. This year he introduced the Informed Choice Act, which The Independent reported “would authorize grants ‘to nonprofit tax-exempt organizations for the purchase of ultrasound equipment to provide free examinations to pregnant women needing such services, and for other purposes.’” In essence, his bill would have given money to crisis pregnancy centers, which aim to discourage women from having abortions, so they could buy ultrasound equipment.

In their letter to Stearns, DeGette and Waxman note that they believe this investigation to be one more cog in an ongoing smear campaign against Planned Parenthood. They wrote, “This year, House Republicans have voted twice to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding. You strongly supported these efforts, stating that ‘defunding Planned Parenthood should be a fiscal and moral priority for Congress.’ You also unfairly smeared the organization when you claimed that Planned Parenthood is ‘willing to use public funds to commit a federal crime’ and is ‘willing to ignore the law in promoting its service.’ … It would be an abuse of the oversight process if you are now using the Committee’s investigative powers to harass Planned Parenthood again. Your fervent ideological opposition to Planned Parenthood does not justify launching this intrusive investigation.”

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., have joined a handful of members of Congress in condemning Rep. Cliff Stearn’s recently launched investigation into Planned Parenthood’s finances and policies.

Planned Parenthood is a national chain of women’s health care clinics that is frequently under attack by anti-abortion rights groups because some of the clinics provide legal abortions.

Earlier this month, Stearns, R-Ocala, asked the president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, for the organization’s financial and policy records as part of his investigation. Stearns chairs a subcommittee on oversight and investigations in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Almost immediately, members of Congress condemned Stearns’ efforts.

According to National Journal:

House Democrats pushed back with a letter of their own on Tuesday, accusing Republicans of requesting an avalanche of documents for purely political reasons.

“We question the basis for the investigation and whether Planned Parenthood is being singled out as part of a Republican vendetta against [Planned Parenthood],” wrote Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.

Democrats said the Republican investigation includes “an extraordinarily broad and burdensome request for documents,” including internal auditing from Planned Parenthood and 83 affiliates over the past 12 years, state audits over the past 20 years, and “sensitive information” on how Planned Parenthood affiliates refer women to other clinics if they don’t provide abortion services.

In a recent email to supporters, Cecile Richards called the investigation “harassment and intimidation.” Richards said the investigation is “an effort to undercut Planned Parenthood and undermine Planned Parenthood health centers’ ability to provide essential care to the women, men, and teens who rely on them.”

“This is about a pattern of politically motivated attacks designed to eliminate Planned Parenthood once and for all,” she wrote in a statement to supporters.

Now other members of Congress are voicing their disapproval with the investigation. Schakowsky released a press release calling the investigation “needless and politically motivated.” She said that “instead of attacking unemployment, Republicans are waging a war against women.”

Blumenthal called the investigation an “abusive witch hunt by Republicans” that is “an unconscionable waste of taxpayer dollars, and harassment of a trusted healthcare provider for millions of women and families in Connecticut and across the country,” in a recent press release.

“As a former prosecutor and state attorney general,” Blumenthal said, “I know a frivolous investigation when I see one.”

Stearns was motivated to launch an investigation after the release of a report by Americans United for Life, an anti-abortion group. As The American Independent reported, Americans United called upon Congress to hold an investigation looking into Planned Parenthood’s finances and practices. While Planned Parenthood has called the report false and “ideologically driven,” Stearns did not rule out launching an investigation.

Planned Parenthood is currently circulating an open letter to Stearns asking him to stop the investigation.

Stearns mentioned back in July that such an investigation was possible, after the release a report arguing that lawmakers should defund Planned Parenthood. The report was written by Americans United for Life, an anti-abortion group. As The American Independent reported, Americans United called upon Congress to hold an investigation looking into Planned Parenthood’s finances and practices. While Planned Parenthood has called the report false and “ideologically driven,” Stearns did not rule out launching an investigation.

Sarah Kliff of Politico reports that Stearns, who chairs a subcommittee on oversight and investigations, has already asked the president of Planned Parenthood to provide the committee with a range of documents.

According to the letter sent to Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, Stearn’s “committee has questions about the policies in place and actions undertaken by the [Planned Parenthood Federation of America] and its affiliates related to its use of federal funding and its compliance with federal restrictions on the funding of abortion.”

According to a recent statement from Planned Parenthood:

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) expressed disappointment that Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has put politics before lifesaving health care by launching what appears to be a politically motivated investigation and demanding an onerous amount of records from PPFA and its 83 affiliates, some going as far back as 13 years.

…

“At a time when the American people need jobs, some members of Congress are instead misusing their political power to go after health care access for the most vulnerable women in the country,” said Richards. “We are certain that the millions of women and men who count on Planned Parenthood will make their voices heard and speak out, just as they did during the budget battle in the spring.”

…

Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in a letter to Congressman Stearns, wrote, “We are aware of no predicate that would justify this sweeping and invasive request to Planned Parenthood. The HHS Inspector General and state Medicaid programs regularly audit Planned Parenthood and report publicly on their findings.  These audits have not identified any pattern of misuse of federal funds, illegal activity, or other abuse that would justify a broad and invasive congressional investigation.”

Stearns has asked Planned Parenthood for a host of documents, including auditing records and written policies.

Stearns has disapproved of Planned Parenthood for some time. This year he introduced the Informed Choice Act, which The American Independent reported “would authorize grants ‘to nonprofit tax-exempt organizations for the purchase of ultrasound equipment to provide free examinations to pregnant women needing such services, and for other purposes.’” In essence, his bill would have given money to crisis pregnancy centers, which aim to discourage women from having abortions, so they could buy ultrasound equipment.

U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., and Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., sent a letter Monday to Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns requesting that executives from two of Solyndra’s largest private investors, Argonaut Private Equity and Madrone Capital Partners, be called to testify at a scheduled hearing Friday or sometime in the near future.

“One important question for the Committee to examine is whether there were sound reasons to make an investment in Solyndra,” they wrote.

“Some sophisticated and experienced private venture capital investors thought the answer was yes, and they invested over $1 billion in Solyndra – twice the support provided by the federal government. The Committee would benefit from hearing the views of these private investors as we assess the merits of federal decisions regarding the Solyndra loan guarantee.

“In particular, we ask that you seek testimony from Argonaut and Madrone, the two top private investors in the company,” they wrote. “Representatives of each, Argonaut Managing Director Steve Mitchell, and Madrone Founder and General Partner Jameson McJunkin, served on Solyndra’s board and should be well acquainted with the company. Mr. Mitchell and Mr. McJunkin could provide the Committee with perspective on why Solyndra attracted so much private capital, Solyndra’s representations about its economic prospects, and the external factors that have been affecting the U.S. solar industry.”

Solyndra’s bankruptcy and its laying off of 1,100 workers have left the solar industry with a black eye, and enflamed conservatives who are blasting the Obama administration over its $535 million loan guarantee to the Fremont, Calif., company. As Fortune magazine points out, Argonaut is among several firms that invested nearly $1 billion of equity in Solyndra, but most of it came before the Department of Energy provided Solyndra with loan guarantees. Argonaut Private Equity is funded through George Kaiser Family Foundation, whose namesake is a major donor and political ally of President Obama.

“None of that $1 billion has been ‘reworked’ to the benefit of Solyndra’s equity investors,” Fortune Senior Editor Dan Primack wrote in a column posted online yesterday. “They all are subordinate to the federal loan, and will likely get wiped out. What Drudge and others are referring to, however, is $75 million in debt financing that Solyndra raised after the DoE loan. Basically, the company was floundering and this was a last-ditch effort to turn the company around. The primary debt providers were Argonaut and another existing Solyndra investor called Madrone Capital Partners. This is the money that has priority to the feds (assuming anyone ultimately buys Solyndra’s assets).”

Stoking the partisan flames are media misrepresentations engulfing the Solyndra story. It was a credit committee consisting of financially astute civil servants under the Bush administration that actually selected the solar manufacturing company for the loan guarantee program. Solyndra was one of 16 projects chosen out of 143 submissions. The same credit committee approved the loan guarantee in 2009, when Obama was in office, after the application worked its ways through the committee’s checks and balances.

Still, there are many questions to be asked and lessons to be learned from Solyndra’s collapse. Solyndra Chief Executive Brian Harrison and Chief Financial Officer W.G. Stover Jr. are expected to testify Friday before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, of which DeGette is a ranking member.

Whether Solyndra’s executives made misleading statements or omissions in their dealings with federal officials will be an area of focus. DeGette, according to the Los Angeles Times, is upset Solyndra executives told her this summer that the company would double its revenue this year.

“I’m perplexed how they could be in my office in July telling me things were looking better and filing for bankruptcy two months later,” DeGette said.

Solyndra is the third solar company to file for bankruptcy in the last few months as a consequence of falling demand from European countries that have cuts its subsidies, worsening macroeconomic conditions, and excess industry capacity combined with low pricing that have hit the sector hard.

“Less than two months ago, Mr. Harrison met with us and other Committee members to assure us that Solyndra was in a strong financial position and in no danger of failing,” DeGette wrote with California Representative and Committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman. “At that time, [Harrison] said the company was projected to double its revenues in 2011, there was ‘strong demand in the United States’ for its shipments, and the company was expected to double the megawatts of panel production shipped this year. These assurances appear to contrast starkly with his company’s decision to file for bankruptcy last week.”

Silicon Valley-based solar panel maker Solyndra was a new-energy darling of the Obama 2009 stimulus package. The company received roughly $530 million in government loans and yet went belly up last month.

The events seemed to confirm the worst fears and suspicions of green energy critics who see the sector as a money hole, a land of hyped hope and dreams that provides fertile ground for get-rich-quick schemes and government-business insider graft.

Stearns this week said he “smelled a rat” in Solyndra from the beginning and pointed to the fact that Solyndra investor George Kaiser was an Obama campaign donor. The Energy Department downplayed the accusations, saying that Solyndra support was in the pipeline during the Bush administration and the Obama team merely finished the deal.

More likely, Solyndra appears to have made the kind of business bets that can make or break a company and that broke this one.

As the New York Times reported, the company’s panels don’t use silicon, which was a much more costly commodity in 2009 when the loan guarantee was approved than it is now. And the cylindrical design of the panels was meant to cut installment costs and improve efficiency by more easily catching the sun wherever it is in the sky. But manufacturing those special panels proved too costly.

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will conduct its hearing on the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program and Solyndra on September 14th.

DeGette’s letter:

Dear Chairman Stearns:

We understand that you have scheduled a hearing on September 14, 2011, to examine the Department of Energy’s 2009 loan guarantee to Solyndra and the recent announcement by the company that it is planning to file for bankruptcy. We hope this hearing will help the Committee understand whether mistakes were made in the handling of this loan and how Congress can improve loan guarantee program and develop appropriate policies to promote clean energy technologies.

We are writing to request that you invite Brian Harrison, chief executive officer of Solyndra, to testify at the hearing. Less than two months ago, Mr. Harrison met with us and other Committee members to assure us that Solyndra was in a strong financial position and in no danger of failing. At that time, he said the company was projected to double its revenues in 2011, there was “strong demand in the United States” for its shipments, and the company was expected to double the megawatts of panel production shipped this year. These assurances appear to contrast starkly with his company’s decision to file for bankruptcy last week.

Any thorough examination of the Solyndra loan guarantee should include the opportunity to ask Mr. Harrison about his representations. He did not convey to us the perilous condition of the company and the Committee should know why.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman Diana DeGette
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Got a tip? Story pitch? Send us an e-mail. Follow The Colorado Independent on Twitter.

Nationwide, the companies injected 11.4 million gallons of products containing at least one of the so-called BTEX chemicals (benzene, toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene), according to the report produced by Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee, including Colorado’s Diana DeGette. Colorado, along with Oklahoma and Texas, ranked in the top three for the highest volume of fluids containing possible carcinogens.

Rep. Diana DeGette 

“It is deeply disturbing to discover the content and quantity of toxic chemicals, like benzene and lead, being injected into the ground without the knowledge of the communities whose health could be affected,” DeGette said in a release.

“Of particular concern to me is that we learned that over the four-year period studied, over one and a half million gallons of carcinogens were injected into the ground in Colorado. Many companies were also unable to even identify some of the chemicals they were using in their own activities, unfortunately underscoring that voluntary industry disclosure is not enough to ensure the economic benefits of natural gas production do not come at the cost of our families’ health.”

The commonly used gas drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, frees up more natural gas by injecting mostly water and sand, along with undisclosed chemicals, deep into natural gas wells to fracture tight geological formations. The process has been increasingly scrutinized because of concerns about groundwater contamination.

DeGette and Colorado Rep. Jared Polis have introduced legislation that would compel companies to publicly disclose the types of chemicals being used in fracking fluids. Colorado is joining a national effort to set up a voluntary database for companies to disclose the chemical makeup of fracking fluids, but DeGette and Polis want to remove a Safe Drinking Water Exemption for the process that was granted during the Bush administration in 2005.

The latest report also comes from Democrats Henry Waxman, the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Edward Markey, ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee. DeGette, the ranking member of the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, joined Waxman and Markey in releasing a report in late January revealing that the same oil and gas service companies injected more than 32 million gallons of diesel fuel into the ground between 2005 and 2009 – a possible violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Colorado natural gas industry officials concurred with national industry representatives in countering that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) never has set any rules for the use of diesel fuel in fracking fluids.

Responding to the latest report, Matt Armstrong, an energy industry attorney, told The New York Times that the methodology of both congressional reports was flawed.

“This report uses the same sleight of hand deployed in the last report on diesel use — it compiles overall product volumes, not the volumes of the hazardous chemicals contained within those products,” Armstrong said. “This generates big numbers but provides no context for the use of these chemicals over the many thousands of frac jobs that were conducted within the timeframe of the report.”

Most oil and gas service companies insist they must maintain the secrecy of hydraulic fracturing ingredients for proprietary reasons. In Colorado, state rules that went into effect in 2009 compel companies to provide the chemical makeup of fracking fluids to regulatory officials and emergency workers upon request.