JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A U.S. Senate committee led by Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill is looking into grants made by the federal Department of Energy.

McCaskill says she has concerns about the agency’s ability to oversee grants after recent reports that a grant intended for the manufacture of electric car batteries was used by a Michigan company to pay idle workers.

McCaskill heads a Senate subcommittee on financial oversight and contracting.

She has asked Energy Secretary Steven Chu for information on the department’s attempts to improve its oversight of grant funding. McCaskill also has asked the comptroller general to examine the department’s rules on grants and cooperative agreements.

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