Posted on 07/04/2009 6:05:51 PM PDT by kcvl
Republican Sen. Richard G. Lugar, one of the deans of Congress, and his junior colleague, Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, have been leading the charge to secure federal money for a company that wants to build the next generation of advanced lithium-ion batteries.
The Indiana lawmakers have secured $6.5 million in congressional earmarks for Ener1, Inc., and have talked up the company's efforts to secure a slice of nearly $3 billion in two Energy Department programs offering grants and loans as part of President Obama's stimulus package.
Their pitch sounds as American as apple pie: The New York-based company would create much-needed jobs in the nation's heartland and help jump-start production of energy-efficient hybrid and electric vehicles.
But there's one detail they don't mention.
Ener1 has substantial financial ties to Russian industrialist Boris Zingarevich, a wealthy timber magnate and longtime business associate of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Mr. Zingarevich is frequently listed among the powerful and influential businessmen known in Russia as oligarchs.
According to federal records, Mr. Zingarevich is the "provider of substantially all of the funding" for Ener1 and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The companies he owns, controls or is associated with - including Bzinfin SA, an off-shore firm that holds 66 percent of the shares of Ener1's parent company - have the potential to exercise substantial sway over Ener1's operations, documents filed with U.S. securities regulators state.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Vichy Republics who fill their own pockets
while selling out America to our enemies.
Isn't that the business of the free market? If the market determines that better batteries are needed for products, then the market should be risking the capital. It is not the federal (or any) gov’ts place to be picking companies to “invest” in.
... or am I all wet.
Agreed. The government should not be picking winners and losers. We’ll end up an economic basket case like the old Soviet Union.
There is no difference between Dems and Republicans. They all have to bring home the pork. It’s how they generate campaign cash to get elected.
The only think I can see that might change it is for there to be a formula for how much citizens of a state pay in taxes based on how much spending their senators vote for. So, if your state has a big-spending senator, your state’s taxpayers pay more, and if you have a more frugal senator (Now, there’s a concept!), your state’s taxpayers would pay less. Yeah, I know. It will never happen.
“What the hell is the federal government doing “investing” in an American company?”
My thought exactly. Why is Federal government owning companies? Investing in companies? Should not be happening.
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