According to records from the US Department of Energy, only one sixth of the total USD50 million green technology loan given to the Vehicle Production Group LLC was ever recovered. Vehicle Production Group LLC is a maker of wheelchair compatible vans and is now under new management.
AM General, the manufacturer of Humvee transport vehicles for the US military complex, announced that it had obtained majority control over VPG after it had purchased the federal loan awarded to the company back in March 2011. The said loan was given under a program of the Obama administration that was designed to promote the design and manufacture of advanced design vehicles.
This loan program though became an elecction issue as the Republicans criticized the Department of Energy for the management program. This was despite the department showing that the losses trumpeted were but a small part of its overall loan portfolio program.
According to DOE spokesperson Bill Gibbons, "After exhausting any realistic possibility for a sale that might have protected their entire investment, the Department determined that auctioning the remainder of VPG's loan obligation offered the best possible recovery for the taxpayer."
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