House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) finally gets a day in the sun with Energy Secretary Steven Chu this week.

Issa, a provocateur with a flair for attracting media attention, has been itching to put Chu in the hot seat since last fall in order to question the handling of the $35.7 billion his department received through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. So far, DOE has paid out about $23.7 billion of that total, but it has also had some high-profile setbacks.

The most high-profile bump in the road has been the more than half-billion dollars that is expected to be lost on the now-bankrupt Solyndra solar energy company that received funds through DOE's controversial stimulus-funded loan guarantee program.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has taken the lead on the congressional probe of the Solyndra deal, but Issa hasn't been afraid to step in and shine a spotlight on other loans made through the program.

In October, Issa expressed concern over a conditional loan commitment made to a Michigan steel manufacturer that is a subsidiary of a Russian steel and mining company owned by a billionaire with ties to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Three months after Issa raised a fuss, DOE pulled back the $730 million loan offer.

Issa also questioned a slew of other loan recipients, including a Nevada geothermal project that has been supported by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and a New England energy storage project that is changing ownership after its original backer fell into bankruptcy.

But the chairman's concerns with DOE's stimulus spending haven't been limited just to the loan program.

Last month, Issa went after the agency's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, which received $3.2 billion through the stimulus. Issa was specifically concerned about the decision to spend nearly a half-million federal dollars to upgrade the engine of a luxury yacht owned by the Port of Los Angeles.

The Government Accountability Office has also scrutinized DOE's management of the grant program. A recent GAO report questioned the agency's ability to keep grant recipients on track due to complicated reporting systems, varying degrees of expertise within the agency and the bureaucracy of local laws.

While Chu has made several appearances on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, tensions over an Oversight Committee appearance bubbled over early last month when DOE staff suggested that the agency's chief financial officer or Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman might be better suited to answer Issa's questions.

Issa threatened to use his committee's broad powers to compel Chu to testify before the two sides finally agreed on this week's hearing date.

Schedule: The hearing is Tuesday, March 20, at 10 a.m. in 2154 Rayburn.

Witness: Energy Secretary Steven Chu.