Yesterday The Hill reported that forty Senators have asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to end the TARP program by the end of 2009. According to the government released Monthly TARP Report, detailing the activities of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) of 2008 which created TARP, the authority to make investments under the EESA expires on December 31, 2009. However, the Secretary of the Treasury may extend the authority through October 3, 2010, upon satisfying certain conditions.
The forty Senators, led by John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, have asked Secretary Geithner not to extend the program. According to the article:
""The Troubled Asset Relief Program was originally designed and proposed to Congress as a measure to help failing banks get toxic assets off their books while they regained financial stability," said Thune. "In reality, TARP has been used to take ownership interests in banks, insurance companies, and automakers."
I think it's a little late to debate how the TARP was used, but I think Senator Thune is right in asking that it not be extended. The article describes the letter sent by the forty Senators as bi-partisan. I think that is a bit of a stretch since only one Democrat signed the letter.
Based on the chart listed on the government's TARP report, it appears that as of the end of August, only $450 billion of the TARP money had been spent. If President Obama really wanted to help the economy, he would cut the spending there and give the rest of the money back to the taxpayers.
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