If At First It Fails, Try, Try Again?Posted by Kevin on January 15th, 2009
The Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), has sponsored new legislation that would allegedly make the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) more accountable to the American people. Despite the title of his bill, Rep. Frank’s “TARP Reform and Accountability Act of 2009″ (H.R. 384) provides neither reform nor accountability to the TARP. That’s unfortunate, because both are desperately needed. Though Rep. Frank’s bill does not authorize the release of the remaining $350 billion of TARP funds, the purpose of the bill is to help ensure that congressional efforts to stop the release of the remaining funds fail. House Republican leaders today issued an analysis warning that “passage of H.R. 384 may facilitate the discharge of the final tranche by establishing guidelines for spending the next $350 billion for those Members concerned with how the first tranche was spent.” There are several concerning elements of Rep. Frank’s Bill, most notably among them (From the “Statement of Republican Policy” issued Jan. 15, 2009):
There has been a plethora of criticism from other quarters as well concerning the Frank bill and the larger effort by Democratic congressional leaders to ensure the remaining $350 billion in taxpayer funds is released. Read the rest of this entry » American Taxpayers Deserve a TARP Exit StrategyPosted by Kevin on January 15th, 2009
Leader Boehner has an op-ed in today’s USA Today in which he expresses his reservations about approving the second tranche – which would amount to $350 billion – of money from the so-called TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). The Treasury Department has already blown through the first $350 billion, but the money was spent with little transparency and virtually no accountability. This morning in USA Today, Leader Boehner argues that unless dramatic changes are made and a clear exit strategy is defined that would get the federal government back out of the private sector, Congress should not approve the release of any further TARP money. This program has gone off the rails. As Leader Boehner stated in his op-ed:
Moreover, given the mismanagement of the first $350 billion, Leader Boehner asks a reasonable question:
American taxpayers deserve a TARP exit strategy, and major changes in the way the program is operated. Until taxpayers get these things, Congress should not even consider releasing the remaining TARP money |
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