On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted in favor of H.J. Res. 3. This resolution is meant to block the release of the $350B remaining for the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). From Virginia, Reps. Wittman, Nye, Scott, Forbes, Perriello, Goodlatte, Cantor, Wolf, and Connolly voted in favor of the measure. Rep. Moran voted against it, along with 150 of his Democratic colleagues. Rep. Boucher took a walk did not vote due to the passing of his mother.
“The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act was created with a mechanism that would allow Congress to block the release of the second half of the funds if we felt the program was either mismanaged or inefficient. As we’ve seen with the first $350 billion released through the TARP, there has been a severe lack of transparency and accountability in how the funds are being used. We also continue to see that the model is not working – we still face a deteriorating economy, months after the initial funds have been spent,” said Forbes. “Taxpayers deserve diligent and responsible use of their dollars, and Congress has a responsibility to block the release of the remaining bailout funds to prevent further wasting of taxpayer dollars.”
But voting in favor of this resolution may be of little consequence.
The Senate did NOT pass their version of the law blocking the release of the funds, and they will not likely consider HJR3. Both Senators Webb and Warner voted against the resolution.
This means that the pathway to the release of the funds to the Secretary of Treasury on Jan. 27 is wide open.
Considering that the guy in charge of the money is the same guy who couldn’t pay his taxes and allowed Lehman Brothers to tank while doling out bailout packages to others…color me not so confident.
