Journal staff | Posted: Tuesday, November 17/09
Sen. John Thune introduced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit the Treasury Secretary from extending the Troubled Asset Relief Program beyond its current December 31 expiration date. The original legislation creating TARP allows the Treasury Secretary to extend the program without additional Congressional consent until Oct. 3, 2010; Thune's legislation, the TARP Sunset Act of 2009, repeals this provision.
"Congress created TARP to help relieve the credit crisis that threatened our economy last year, but instead of using the program for its intended purpose, the Treasury Department has bought ownership interests in auto manufacturers, insurance companies, and hundreds of financial institutions," Thune said. "Now is the time to end this program to ensure that additional taxpayer dollars are not wasted since TARP has devolved into a slush fund for the Administration."
A recent report from the Special Inspector General for TARP indicates that more than $317 billion remains unobligated out of the $700 billion program.
Sen. John Thune introduced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit the Treasury Secretary from extending the Troubled Asset Relief Program beyond its current December 31 expiration date. The original legislation creating TARP allows the Treasury Secretary to extend the program without additional Congressional consent until Oct. 3, 2010; Thune's legislation, the TARP Sunset Act of 2009, repeals this provision.
"Congress created TARP to help relieve the credit crisis that threatened our economy last year, but instead of using the program for its intended purpose, the Treasury Department has bought ownership interests in auto manufacturers, insurance companies, and hundreds of financial institutions," Thune said. "Now is the time to end this program to ensure that additional taxpayer dollars are not wasted since TARP has devolved into a slush fund for the Administration."
A recent report from the Special Inspector General for TARP indicates that more than $317 billion remains unobligated out of the $700 billion program.