House angered by Obama's Solyndra comments

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- House Republicans are angry after President Barack Obama said he didn't have regrets over a loan to a solar panel company that later filed for bankruptcy.

Obama, in an interview with ABC News, said he didn't have regrets about the federal loan of $535 million to solar panel company Solyndra, which later declared bankruptcy. The company's offices were raided by the FBI after it filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

Obama once touted the energy company as the centerpiece of his green energy initiative.

"Hindsight is always 20/20," said Obama. "(The loan) went through the regular review process and people felt that it was a good bet."

"Mr. President, the facts say otherwise on Solyndra," Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said in a statement. "Corners were cut and the alarm bells were coming from within your own administration in 2009."

A series of e-mail messages have surfaced that suggest there were reservations inside the White House about moving ahead with the Solyndra loan too quickly.

Solyndra executives refused to answer questions before a House committee last month.

The White House said it needed to be aggressive with clean energy matters. With China and European countries outpacing the United States, Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman had said clean energy initiatives backed by the White House under a federal stimulus package are having a positive impact on the U.S. economy and the clean energy race.