The New York Times recently reported on the Dept. of Energy’s frantic effort to lend $400 billion before the election of 2024. In doing so, the Times article publicized a critical report by the Office of the Inspector General dated November 2022. That report, along with a memo to the energy secretary from Inspector General Teri Donaldson, identified numerous risks that had just been increased by the ballooning plans for loans. These increases (no surprise!) had been authorized by the CHIPS Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the IRA (“Inflation Reduction Act”).
