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'Imperative': Senator Requests 'Thorough Review' of Biden Admin Grants to Beijing-Backed Companies

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The Senate energy committee's top Republican is requesting a "thorough 
review" of Biden administration grants to Beijing-backed entities after 
the Washington Free Beacon found the administration sent millions of 
dollars to a green energy company that partnered with a Chinese state-
owned gas giant.

Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) called for the review in a Wednesday letter 
to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, which cites a Free Beacon report 
showing President Joe Biden's Energy Department funneled more than $10 
million in grants to carbon capture company LanzaTech in the months after 
the company partnered with Sinopec Capital, the clean energy investment 
arm of the China Petrochemical Corporation. For Barrasso, those grants 
have direct national security implications, prompting the Republican to 
request the "policies and procedures related to the awarding of loans and 
grants to companies with leadership and/or financial ties to the People's 
Republic of China."

"The Department cannot afford to keep making the same mistake of enriching 
China's technological efforts at the expense of taxpayers," Barrasso's 
letter states. "It is imperative you conduct this review as the awarding 
of these grants and loans directly impacts the national security of the 
United States."

This is not the first time Biden's Energy Department, which did not return 
a request for comment, has come under fire for funding green energy 
companies that cozy up to Beijing. 

In October, the department announced a $200 million award to Microvast 
Holdings, an investment Granholm said would "supercharge the private 
sector to ensure our clean energy future is American-made." But Microvast 
operates primarily in China, the Free Beacon reported last week, and the 
Securities and Exchange Commission recently added the company to a 
watchlist of Chinese companies that fail to comply with U.S. auditing 
requirements. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) called the department's decision 
to fund Microvast "crazy," while Barrasso said the grant "endangers our 
national security" and "undermine[s] the United States' position in its 
race against China for technological supremacy."

Barrasso's letter asks Granholm to respond by Dec. 7 and "provide the 
results of the Department's review" by Jan. 31. Should Granholm rebuff the 
senator, she could still face scrutiny from the House after Republicans 
take control of the chamber early next year. Republican staffers have 
already signaled they will probe Biden's plan to send taxpayer funds to 
foreign green energy mines, which the Democrat hopes to use to power his 
"clean energy agenda." 

Published under: China, Green Energy, John Barrasso

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/imperative-senator-requests-
thorough-review-of-biden-admin-grants-to-beijing-backed-companies/

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'Imperative': Senator Requests 'Thorough Review' of Biden Admin Grants to Beijing-Backed Companies zinn <zinn@reno.us> - 2022-12-20 11:03 +0000

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