Spending Tarp Money
The $700 billion the Troubled Assets Relief Program received from Congress has not been spent the way many in Congress had intended.
Bush's appointee, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke the Chairman of the Federal Reserve went to Congress last fall and asked for $700 billion. Some members of Congress had serious concerns, but when the two top economic officials of the administration tell you that, if you don't do something, you're going to have problems, it could become a self - fulfilling prophecy.
The Bush administration wanted Congess to immediately give them $700 billion virtually unrestricted. Their arrogant request to Congress stated: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.”
Many Americans have become cynical regarding our government's ability to solve this economic crisis, especially the way the TARP program has been handled. Congress gave the Bush administration half of the money that was requested, but attached conditions to the second half of the bailout money. Congress told Treasury Secretary Paulson that he’d get $350 billion, but they required an opportunity to evaluate the results, before approving the rest.
Most of our representatives in Congress were disappointed when the Bush administration decided to use none of that money to reduce foreclosures, which had been a central part of the economic solution.
Congress has frozen the second half of the money and anticipate bringing a bill to the floor of the House next week, which will put some real restrictions on how the second half of money is spent. Congress intends to make it clear that the Obama administration will not be able to spend any of the additional money unless they do something to reduce foreclosures.
The money that Paulson gave the banks, isn’t being loaned by many of those banks to enable people to by cars and homes. Consequently, going forward Congress will insist that no money can be used in the second half of the TARP program until they get assurances that money put into the banks is going to be recycled back into the economy in the form of reasonable loans.
Bush's appointee, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke the Chairman of the Federal Reserve went to Congress last fall and asked for $700 billion. Some members of Congress had serious concerns, but when the two top economic officials of the administration tell you that, if you don't do something, you're going to have problems, it could become a self - fulfilling prophecy.
The Bush administration wanted Congess to immediately give them $700 billion virtually unrestricted. Their arrogant request to Congress stated: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.”
Many Americans have become cynical regarding our government's ability to solve this economic crisis, especially the way the TARP program has been handled. Congress gave the Bush administration half of the money that was requested, but attached conditions to the second half of the bailout money. Congress told Treasury Secretary Paulson that he’d get $350 billion, but they required an opportunity to evaluate the results, before approving the rest.
Most of our representatives in Congress were disappointed when the Bush administration decided to use none of that money to reduce foreclosures, which had been a central part of the economic solution.
Congress has frozen the second half of the money and anticipate bringing a bill to the floor of the House next week, which will put some real restrictions on how the second half of money is spent. Congress intends to make it clear that the Obama administration will not be able to spend any of the additional money unless they do something to reduce foreclosures.
The money that Paulson gave the banks, isn’t being loaned by many of those banks to enable people to by cars and homes. Consequently, going forward Congress will insist that no money can be used in the second half of the TARP program until they get assurances that money put into the banks is going to be recycled back into the economy in the form of reasonable loans.
posted by Jim O'Leary | 12:03 AM
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