NEW BOOK DETAILS WHITE HOUSE PRESSURE ON USEC LOAN GUARANTEE

A book that hits the shelves today on President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan claims that White House officials put pressure on the Department of Energy to grant a $2 billion loan guarantee to USEC. Matt Rogers, the former DOE Senior Advisor in charge of Recovery Act implementation, said he “once encountered White House pressure,” when USEC initially pursued the loan for the American Centrifuge Plant, Time Magazine reporter Michael Grunwald writes in “The New New Deal,” according to Politico. After Rogers decided not to award the loan based on financial risks, he was summoned to the White House situation room. “You realize the president made a campaign promise?” asked White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett. But Rogers did not change his mind on granting the loan. Jarrett reportedly responded, “Well if you’re sure you’re sure. But you’d better be sure.”