The latest Solyndra scuffle kicked off with gusto yesterday afternoon during opening statements at a markup for the "No More Solyndras Act" as Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) dubbed the legislation "one of the greatest political frauds of all time."

During the first half of the House Energy and Commerce Committee markup yesterday afternoon, the panel also cleared a measure aimed at changing how U.S. EPA tracks hazardous waste.

Republicans have described H.R. 6213 as a way to wind down the Department of Energy loan guarantee program that provided $535 million in federal funds to the now-bankrupt California solar manufacturer Solyndra LLC. But Markey has pointed out that the bill doesn't actually end the loan program and would allow the agency to continue issuing loan guarantees to companies as long as they submitted their applications before a Dec. 31, 2011, cutoff date included in the legislation.

Republicans have said that date was picked to protect DOE from liability from companies that could be harmed by DOE's simply pulling the plug on the program, but Markey has accused Republicans of trying to protect certain industry groups, including the nuclear sector, which is still keen to receive billions of dollars in DOE-backed loans.

"If cynicism was an Olympic sport, the GOP would win the gold," Markey said. "If Republicans want to end the DOE loan program, they should be acting on a different piece of legislation."

But committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) argued yesterday in his own opening statement that the bill is a suitable culmination of the 18 months of work the committee put into investigating Solyndra, the DOE program and the Obama administration officials who played a role in the issuance of the loan guarantee.

"This bill recognizes both our current fiscal challenges and our understanding that the federal government is ill-suited to be gambling the taxpayers' dollars with this sort of company-specific investment," Upton said.

Upton held the opening statements portion of the markup just four days after Solyndra filed its Chapter 11 reorganization plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. That filing confirmed the long-held assumption that the company will pay off little, if any, of the $527 million in federal funding that it burned through before going belly up. Estimates from Dow Jones reports indicated the company could pay back about $24 million on its loan. The company's private investors, some of whom backed the company after DOE put in its funds, are expected to recoup a much larger share.

The two sides will rejoin the battle this morning when the committee meets at 10 a.m. to consider amendments. Members on both sides of the aisle said yesterday they expect many to be submitted.

Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) said yesterday that he plans to reoffer an amendment that failed when the bill was debated in the Energy and Power Subcommittee last week that seeks to put the DOE loan guarantee program on a time-out until the program can be re-evaluated by the secretary of Energy.

Green, who believes there can be a place for the loan guarantee program within DOE's portfolio, wants to institute a one-year moratorium on new loans to give the agency time to submit a list of recommended changes to Congress.

Markey, who offered several amendments targeted at nuclear loans during last week's markup, said yesterday that he, too, plans to be active in this morning's amendment process.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who had prepared eight amendments for the subcommittee markup but only offered one, did not show up to offer an opening statement yesterday.

Committee clears e-manifest bill

Also yesterday, the Energy and Commerce panel agreed to move a bill aimed at changing how EPA tracks hazardous waste.

Sen. John Thune's (R-S.D.) S. 6213, which passed on a voice vote yesterday, would shift EPA's waste tracking from paper manifests to an electronic system. The bill would streamline a system that, according to EPA, generates 2 million to 5 million forms per year. That annual paperwork burden exceeds $200 million, and EPA estimates that an electronic system would save more than $75 million for users and state agencies.

The measure was praised by both Democrats and Republicans before yesterday's vote.

Upton called the measure "a simple yet important step to modernize how we collect and maintain data related to the transport of hazardous waste. ... It's a common-sense bill that comes without cost to taxpayers."

Green said it is not very often that Democrats, Republicans, industry and the environmental community all agree on a measure. And as the Senate already passed its version of the bill last summer, Green urged Republican leaders to push the bill on the House floor as soon as possible.