Obama: Financial bailout must help homeowners, too
By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Press
December 4, 2008
Page 2 of 2
Lawmakers quickly pounced on the findings.
"The seemingly ad hoc implementation of TARP has led many to wonder if uncertainty is being added to markets at precisely the time when they are desperately seeking a sense of direction," the GOP letter said.
The lawmakers asked for an explanation of the government's exit strategy from the "sweeping involvement in private business." They also demanded that Paulson and Bernanke explain what they intend to do with the second $350 billion "for maximizing its effectiveness," and pressed them for more information about government loans, the risks associated with the loans and expectations for repayment.
House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank said Treasury's response comes "very close to telling the institutions that they will be free to use the funds as they wish."
"The bad news was confirmation by the GAO in its first report about the program that Treasury has no way to measure whether taxpayer funds invested in banks are being used in accordance with the purpose of the law to increase lending," Frank said. "The much worse news is Treasury's response that it does not even have the intention of doing so."
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