Racing toward an election and the end of the fiscal year, this month should be a flurry of legislative action. Instead, Congress will probably just kick a number of cans down the road, passing a bill to keep the government running after September 30th and probably a farm bill extension as well. Amidst all the inaction, we will certainly be treated to political speeches and symbolic votes unlikely to lead to actual change. Perhaps the best example is the “No More Solyndras Act,” which we expect the House to take up this month. This bill claims to save taxpayers from more losses like the now infamous Solyndra, but like most political rhetoric, it over promises and under delivers.

By now, we’re guessing you’ve heard of Solyndra, the small solar start-up that received a federally backed loan guarantee and then went bust, costing taxpayers about $500 million. As a long time critic of the Department of Energy loan guarantee program, we wish Congress had noticed its problems before this costly default, but that aside, we wholeheartedly agree that something must be done to stop future costly defaults.

Unfortunately, the “No More Solyndras Act” isn’t a real solution. As the bill stands, all current applicants remain eligible to receive federal backing. The bill simply prevents companies from requesting any new loan guarantees, meaning taxpayers could still be on the hook for billions of dollars worth of loan guarantee applications already in the pipeline. Recent hearings revealed that approximately 50 applications are considered “active” at the Department of Energy. The potential projects include an $8.3 billion loan guarantee for a nuclear reactor project in Georgia, a nearly $2 billion loan guarantee for a liquid coal facility in Wyoming, and another $1.7 billion loan guarantee for a coal gasification plant in Indiana. There are also more than 15 solar projects in the pipeline!

Some of these applicants are obvious duds. Under this bill a $2 billion loan guarantee for a uranium enrichment project that has received a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange is in the on deck circle ready to receive a loan guarantee. Talk about taxpayers striking out, the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) is currently in line to receive a loan guarantee for its enrichment facility in Piketon, OH. But its stock prices have been trading at less than $1 per share for months, and with a junk-bond credit rating from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s under their belt, it is shocking that this project would move forward.