Wednesday, November 18, 2009

TARP's Moment of Truth

Senate Democrats get the chance to prove they care about the deficit.

Democrats are now claiming they really truly are worried about the nation's exploding deficits. Lucky for them, South Dakota Senator John Thune is giving them the perfect chance to prove it.
The Republican yesterday introduced a bill that would bar Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner from extending the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program beyond its expiration date on December 31. The legislation would not affect the roughly $400 billion worth of handouts that remain with the likes of Citigroup or General Motors. It would, however, halt further lending and immediately return the fund's $300 billion in unobligated money to taxpayers.
The White House keeps claiming it wants to do just that, but Mr. Geithner also refuses to rule out signing a TARP renewal. What the Administration won't say is that it likes retaining a slush fund that can be doled out carte-blanche to politically worthy recipients. Only this week AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka dreamed up a new use for TARP money, demanding it be recycled into favored community banks or small businesses. This is how an emergency bailout program morphs into a White House's "walking around" money.
Senator Thune has tried several variations on the end-TARP theme, and with each attempt has picked up Democratic support. When he offers this new proposal—perhaps as part of must-pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling to an eye-popping $13 trillion—taxpayers will be watching "deficit-hawk" Senators, from Alaska's Mark Begich to Arkansas's Blanche Lincoln to Nebraska's Ben Nelson. For Democrats who claim to care about runaway spending, no vote could be easier. TARP has served its purpose, and then some. End it.

 

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