As oil prices creep upward, lawmakers in Washington are staking out familiar and competing positions over how to address the rising price of energy.

The Energy Department itself remains tangled in the scandal over failed solar firm Solyndra. Amid signs that gas prices could soon hit an upswing, top Energy officials are distracted preparing for testimony before Congress and answering the House Energy and Commerce Committee's requests for documentation on its renewable energy loan program. 
 

Yet the department is standing by the intent of that program, and continues to push for more alternative energy investment as the prescription for unstable energy prices. While Republicans over the past few days have pushed anew for domestic oil drilling and exploration, the Obama administration is doubling down on the renewable energy game plan.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Friday visited a General Electric-owned solar plant in Arvada, Colo. There, he said the United States must compete in the clean-energy industry, reiterating his message to the Energy and Commerce Committee from a day earlier.

The White House remains in sync with Chu, despite mounting criticism of his department's handling of the loan guarantee to Solyndra and other companies. "Secretary Chu has the president's full confidence," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said in a statement. "Under his leadership, we are on track to double the generation of renewable energy from sources like wind and solar."

Schultz also cited steps to develop "domestic resources safely and responsibly."

But the White House may come under increasing pressure to do more on the domestic front, with the oil-price cycle poised to trigger a political cycle of energy-related recriminations.

The price of a barrel of oil this past week hit $100 for the first time since July. After steadily falling from its spring peak, the price of oil has risen nearly 30 percent since early October.