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Stimulus funds used to buy solar panels from China?

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    IG report: Roof of federal building cost $1.8M

  • Duration 4:47
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Yeah.

-- maybe not because -- here comes the sun don't look now but taxpayers just got.

The barn because when I am about to -- who's gonna hit their rights.

In the solar Lexus.

Welcome everyone I'm Neil Cavuto -- talk about a solar pain in the you know what.

-- -- will not seeded.

The wind or solar.

Or battery industry to China nobody is playing for second place to make sure countries like China.

Aren't giving their solar companies an unfair advantage.

Over -- so that we can be competitive what what China's doing.

I don't wanna see wind turbines and solar panels and high tech batteries.

Made a great.

Other countries by other workers.

-- -- -- -- Maybe not because after all of that.

This word that solar panels made.

In China.

We're installed on the roof of the federal building in Illinois and you paid for it because one point eight million dollars in stimulus stow your don't know.

Was used to buy them.

Inspector general for the GSA calling it a violation of the president's stimulus plan to buy America act but the agency that -- -- is claiming it did nothing wrong.

Because the panels we're included in a large order or not.

A contract item either way Mark -- says taxpayers are the ones.

Getting -- on.

We should point out Barbara -- you that the federal opposition service is -- a a memos and we hope to get someone.

On this from them but to little available would do the memo that the solar panels were component of a larger system and the battles themselves are not a contract item.

I -- we can debate the details always want.

-- a beneficiary.

And we got into this because we didn't want China being a -- this year.

There but the inspector general of the GSA their own report.

Actually said this should not have happened the contractor -- is -- okay to buy these solar panel from China it was expressly forbidden as part of the stimulus.

And here's the irony here not only are we helping China but the reason given for so -- failure of the reason given for -- bond -- failure for all these other -- failures.

Is that China undercut our market that there was a glut of Chinese products they -- -- -- it.

Because essentially both the US and China we're dumping.

Yeah tens of billions of dollars and all these companies trying to prop him up in China had a bigger spigot to spend.

And now we ended up putting protective tariffs on.

And solar panels of China but we still bought them from China and -- in order to prevent China from selling them in the US -- it's it's AM.

It's that classic government boondoggle here we are our solar companies they allege are failing because the China.

Chinese imports -- we're actually buying up against what the inspector general says it against the rule.

And I laid out -- runs a light by the contracts themselves as -- you know is this okay.

We get this is trying to leave that aside that -- argument for the government getting involved in in in in green energy and and the rest is that.

China underwrote it they're gonna have a big lead to batteries and tunnels and everything else -- we don't get.

Off the stick fast so.

Here we are doing something presumably meant to sort of take that all -- China.

And and be a threat to China and we've made China a bigger threat and a richer wanted to.

We have in fact.

If you look at where China's going so many of the environmental left in the country even people the New York Times we'll take -- so they -- China's one party rule because they can impose.

What's better for the people without the messiness of democracies to China is looked up that as a model.

By environmental -- because of all the investments they're putting in renewable the problem is they're also putting in.

Massive amounts of coal plants.

So it -- in a way is -- serious about renewable they're not the bottom line is renewable aren't going to power the United States or China.

They're that this report out by the internationally and agency DIA.

Last year less than a month showing that 250 billion dollars -- spent globally on these renewable energy including solar panels like this which exceeds all the profits.

Of the major oil companies including Exxon combined.

And this money is going to produce less than 3% of energy.

World well I -- it goes back to whether it's always about -- I would like to -- agree with you so far the industry isn't really encouraging.

But the irony of all of this is that -- there's a country we were trying to beat.

Does the country where enriching -- it -- one project I suspect there might.

The more but it isn't and there anymore as damning irony mark thank you very very much -- -- and in the meantime not talk about up.