A House panel voted Thursday to subpoena the White House for documents related to solar energy company Solyndra.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on oversight and investigations voted 14 to 9 in favor of issuing the subpoenas for internal documents regarding the decision to issue more than half a billion dollars in federal loan guarantees in 2010 to Solyndra, which later filed for bankruptcy.
The decision followed a contentious debate among subcommittee members.
Some Republicans have accused the Obama administration of stonewalling, while some Democrats insist the administration has been forthcoming.
Federal analysts looking at the proposed Solyndra loan in 2009 warned then of possible problems, as well as pressure from the White House to speed up a decision, according to a memorandum released last month by congressional investigators.
Approved in May 2010, the Energy Department's loan allowed Solyndra to build a factory in Fremont, California, to produce state-of-the-art solar panels.
Solyndra filed for bankruptcy in late August and closed its doors, however, putting more than 1,000 people out of work after it received $535 million in loan guarantees.
The bankruptcy leaves the federal government unlikely to get the loan money back. President Barack Obama touted the company in a widely publicized visit last year.
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