Witnesses tell House subcommittee that reported staff cuts imperil DOE loan office’s ability to manage loans

At a House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Subcommittee on Energy hearing, witnesses warned that reported departures and voluntary resignation offers at the Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office (LPO) threaten the office’s ability to manage its existing portfolio and issue new loans.

Sam Walsh, former general counsel of the U.S. Department of Energy, said reports that roughly half of LPO staff have opted to leave so far and that further departures could “cause serious harm to the ability of the program to fulfill the goals” it was given and to manage the loans it already holds.

The concern was echoed by the subcommittee’s members. Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) told the panel she was “very concerned” by reporting that staffing could fall to fewer than 100 employees while the office oversees a multibillion-dollar portfolio. Several members asked witnesses how a steep drop in personnel would affect LPO’s capacity to underwrite, monitor and close loans.

Why it matters: LPO has expanded authorities and a much larger potential pipeline after recent laws such as the Energy Act of 2020, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act broadened eligible projects and greatly increased Title 17 and other loan authorities. Witnesses said that mismatch — more authority and portfolio growth alongside rapidly reduced staff — raises operational risk for taxpayers and for projects that rely on LPO financing.

Sam Walsh said LPO relies on specialized teams of engineers, finance professionals and lawyers and that sudden, large departures make it “very hard to get those folks back.” John Haygood, head of treasury at Southern Company, told the subcommittee his company has worked with LPO through multiple administrations and said the office’s expert staff and process were essential when his company sought financing for Plant Vogtle.

Members and witnesses pointed to specific operational consequences they said could follow large workforce reductions: backlogs processing disbursements and conditional commitments, slower underwriting of new applications, and reduced capacity to monitor credit and technical conditions on loans already closed or disbursed. Sam Walsh estimated the office could be reduced from roughly 250 employees to about 100, saying that would “severely degrade” LPO’s ability to manage disbursed principal and to underwrite new loans.

The committee and witnesses did not propose a formal, binding remedy at the hearing. Several members asked the Department of Energy for additional information and oversight documentation and said they would follow up with written questions. The witnesses asked for continued funding and retention of professional staff so LPO could perform diligence and portfolio management.

Ending: The subcommittee left the hearing with an explicit oversight task: members asked for documentation of current staffing levels, conditional commitments and the expected consequences of any departures. The record will remain open for additional questions and submissions from members.