{"id":2074541,"date":"2023-10-20T18:22:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T22:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-a-very-bad-look-biden-energy-loan-czar-freezes-up-during-senate-hearing-on-pay-to-play-allegations\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T18:23:38","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T22:23:38","slug":"its-a-very-bad-look-biden-energy-loan-czar-freezes-up-during-senate-hearing-on-pay-to-play-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-a-very-bad-look-biden-energy-loan-czar-freezes-up-during-senate-hearing-on-pay-to-play-allegations\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden&#8217;s Energy Loan Czar Stumbles in Senate Hearing on &#8216;Pay-To-Play&#8217; Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fits-a-very-bad-look-biden-energy-loan-czar-freezes-up-during-senate-hearing-on-pay-to-play-allegations%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2074541&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Jigar Shah: \u2064The Man Selling Access to Himself<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption>Biden energy official Jigar\u200d Shah (energy.gov)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div>\n<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-a-very-bad-look-biden-energy-loan-czar-freezes-up-during-senate-hearing-on-pay-to-play-allegations\/\" title=\"Biden's Energy Loan Czar Stumbles in Senate Hearing on 'Pay-To-Play' Claims\">green energy loan czar faced tough questions<\/a> during a Senate Energy Committee hearing regarding his\u200b involvement with a trade association\u2064 he founded. This association has been offering companies paid access to\u2063 Shah\u200c at\u200d private \u2062events. The hearing took place on Thursday \u2063and\u2063 Shah \u200bstruggled \u2064to provide clear \u200canswers.<\/p>\n<p>Since \u200d2022, Jigar Shah, the head of the Department of Energy\u2019s $400 billion\u2062 Loan Programs Office, has been the \u200dmain attraction at numerous paid dinners and events organized by Cleantech\u2062 Leaders Roundtable. This trade \u200dgroup, \u2064founded by Shah in 2017, has been\u200d selling access to him, as reported by the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>. In addition, Shah&#8217;s DOE\u2063 office and\u2064 Cleantech Leaders co-hosted an exclusive\u200b conference for loan-seeking\u200c companies in Washington, D.C., where\u2063 Cleantech \u2062Leaders controlled the guest \u200dlist and ticket sales.<\/p>\n<p>During\u2064 the hearing, Shah\u200b appeared flustered when \u2063questioned about his relationship with Cleantech Leaders. At one point, he was left speechless. This testimony comes as investigations into conflicts\u200d of interest at \u200dthe Loan Programs Office are being conducted by Republican lawmakers and the DOE inspector general. The office, which has gained significant influence \u2062and funding under the Biden administration, is under scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>Senator \u2062John\u200b Barrasso, the top Republican on the \u200ccommittee, criticized Shah for participating in \u200bpaid events, stating that it reflected \u200dpoorly on both Shah\u2064 personally \u2063and \u2063the Department of \u2064Energy. Barrasso \u200bpointed out a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-this-average-american-is-voting-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"Why This Average American Is Voting for Donald Trump\">social media post<\/a> \u200cfrom Cleantech Leaders&#8217; executive director, which highlighted Shah&#8217;s control over a $400 billion loan budget.\u2063 Barrasso argued that the post suggested Cleantech Leaders was leveraging its\u200b access\u2062 to Shah and taxpayer dollars.<\/p>\n<p>When pressed by Barrasso, \u2064Shah refused to say whether he would sever ties with Cleantech Leaders. He \u2063also downplayed his\u2063 role as head of the Loan Programs\u2064 Office, claiming that he had \u2064no involvement in loan decisions,\u200b which were made by\u200d federal staff.\u2062 Shah stated that his purpose was \u2062to build trust with the private sector by attending \u2063events to promote the loan programs office.<\/p>\n<p>Later in the hearing, Shah\u2062 made a \u2064remark that\u200b drew\u2062 laughter \u200cfrom some attendees and shocked Senator \u200cJosh\u200c Hawley. Shah claimed\u2064 that people \u2064attending his Cleantech Roundtable speaking events, which cost up to $250 per person, were \u2063not paying \u200bto see \u200dhim because he believed he was not that important. \u200bHawley challenged this statement, \u200cemphasizing that individuals \u2063seeking government loans were indeed paying\u2064 to see Shah.<\/p>\n<p>The DOE inspector general, Teri Donaldson, also testified at the hearing.\u2064 She \u200crevealed that her\u200b office had initiated a\u200c project to investigate conflicts of interest \u2064within the Loan\u2063 Programs Office. This announcement \u2063followed a letter from Barrasso\u2063 and Representative Cathy\u2064 McMorris Rodgers,\u2062 chair of the \u200cHouse Energy Committee, requesting records related \u200bto the close collaboration between \u200dShah&#8217;s office\u2064 and Cleantech Leaders Roundtable.<\/p>\n<p>The lawmakers expressed concerns\u2064 about \u2062a potential pay-to-play scheme, as a\u2063 board \u2064member of Cleantech Leaders Roundtable also serves on \u200cthe board \u2064of Sunnova Energy,\u2062 a solar company that recently received\u2062 a $3 billion loan from Shah&#8217;s office. They requested\u2062 all correspondence between \u200cthe Loan Programs Office and Cleantech Leaders Roundtable during Shah&#8217;s tenure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What is Jigar\u2062 Shah&#8217;s defense for participating\u200d in paid \u2064events and how \u2064does he argue that it does not create a conflict of interest?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  And the Biden administration. Barrasso argued that\u2063 Shah&#8217;s involvement with Cleantech Leaders raises questions about\u200d his objectivity and his ability to make unbiased decisions regarding loan approvals.<\/p>\n<p>Shah defended his participation in the paid events, claiming that he\u200b saw no\u200d conflict of interest as \u2062he was not\u200b involved\u2063 \u200din the selection process for attendees \u2062or contributors. He maintained that his focus was solely on advancing the Biden administration&#8217;s \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-epa-pick-most-solar-energy-electric-vehicle-parts-come-from-china\/\" title=\"Biden EPA Pick: \u2018Most\u2019 Solar Energy, Electric Vehicle Parts \u2018Come From China\u2019\">green energy agenda<\/a> and supporting innovative companies in the sector.<\/p>\n<p>However, \u2062Barrasso pressed \u2064Shah on the fact that Cleantech Leaders had \u2063control over the\u200c guest \u200dlist, suggesting that it could influence\u200d who gains access to Shah and potentially gives an advantage \u2063to companies that are affiliated\u2064 with the trade association. Barrasso argued that\u2064 this arrangement creates an unfair playing \u200bfield and undermines the credibility\u200c of the Loan Programs Office.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy surrounding \u2064Shah&#8217;s involvement with Cleantech \u200bLeaders further fuels concerns about potential cronyism and favoritism within the \u2063Biden administration. Critics argue \u2064that \u2062by selling access to himself,\u2063 Shah is undermining the\u200d principles\u200d of transparency and fairness \u200din <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/when-the-media-tries-to-wash-their-hands-of-andrew-cuomo-remind-them-of-these-comments\/\" title=\"When The Media Tries To Wash Their Hands Of Andrew Cuomo, Remind Them Of These Comments\">government decision-making<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In response \u200cto \u2063the allegations, the DOE inspector \u2063general has\u2063 launched an investigation into whether \u2063Shah violated any ethics rules or engaged in any improper\u200c conduct. Republican lawmakers have also requested further details\u200b regarding\u2061 the paid \u2064events and the potential influence \u200cit may\u2063 have on loan decisions.<\/p>\n<p>As\u2064 this investigation unfolds, it is evident that questions surrounding the relationship between Jigar Shah and Cleantech Leaders are not going away. The Senate Energy\u200c Committee hearing shed light on\u2063 a\u2062 concerning\u2063 practice that raises doubts about the integrity of the Loan Programs Office. It remains to be seen how the\u200d Biden administration will respond to these allegations and what actions will be taken to address the concerns raised\u2062 by\u2064 Republican lawmakers and the public.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During a Senate Energy Committee hearing, Jigar Shah, President Biden&#8217;s green energy loan czar, faced difficulty clarifying his connection to a trade association he established. This association has been offering companies paid access to him at private events. (55 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":2074542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2074541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2074541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2074542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2074541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2074541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2074541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}