Lugar Instrumental in Securing Stimulus Funds for Failing Indiana Battery Company Tied to Russian Millionaire

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Electric car battery
manufacturer EnerDel, which received a $118.5 million federal stimulus grant,
was placed on a “watch list” by the DOE earlier this week for being the latest
company in serious financial trouble aided by the department. Last Friday,
EnerDel’s parent company Ener1 was delisted from the NASDAQ exchange for failing
to file a June 30th quarterly report. Ener1 is controlled by Russian millionaire
and timber magnate Boris Zingarevich. Senator Dick Lugar supported securing the
taxpayer-backed loan for the failing battery manufacturer in 2009.

“First Solyndra, Evergreen Solar, and Beacon Power Corp., now we can add EnerDel
to the growing list of DOE loan recipients who have filed for bankruptcy or on
life support. Washington bureaucrats have no business picking winners and losers
in the business world and this is but the latest example of showing how inept
they are as venture capitalist,” stated Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who will be
opposing Lugar in the 2012 Republican Primary.

In 2009, Senator Lugar was instrumental in securing $6.5 million in
Congressional earmarks for EnerDel. He then urged DOE’s Energy Secretary Steven
Chu to approve the company’s application for the $118.5 million grant that was
part of Obama’s stimulus bill. According to EnerDel’s website, the company has
received multiple grants and contracts from the federal government. Earlier this
week, it has been reported that EnerDel currently has only 33 Indiana positions
being supported by the DOE stimulus grant. This currently amounts to $3.5
million per Indiana job in total stimulus money awarded.

“The most troubling part of this entire story is that the American taxpayers are
subsidizing a Russian millionaire’s company in order to promote President
Obama’s vision of alternative energy. The problem is, alternative energy really
isn’t an alternative when it must be subsidized by the government,” stated
Treasurer Mourdock.

Zingarevich was listed by Forbes Magazine as the 75th richest person in Russia
in 2004, with an estimated net worth of $330 million. He has close ties to
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and is frequently listed among the powerful
and influential businessmen known in Russia as “oligarchs.”

Mourdock has previously criticized Senator Lugar’s support for earmark spending
and has called for an end to the practice. In 2010, Senator Lugar voted against
reforming the earmark process.

Paid for by Hoosiers for Richard Mourdock,
Inc.

SOURCE Hoosiers for Richard Mourdock, Inc.