TARP Watchdog Complains Treasury Doesn't Cooperate

2 years ago

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Woman Up Editor

On Tuesday morning, Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general appointed last fall to audit and investigate fraud or abuse of the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program, presented his quarterly report to members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Barofsky, well respected for his no-nonsense approach to supervision and enforcement, makes his individualist viewpoint known in his report. The SIG has complained from the start that transparency at Treasury, "necessary so that taxpayers know what's going on with their money," is lacking. Frustrated by poor cooperation from the agency, the watchdog fears "an erosion of confidence in the TARP," and complained to the Los Angeles Times, "You can't ask the basic questions or have a debate about the fundamental policy questions without information."

Nevertheless, Barofsky testified that TARP, which was envisioned as a $700 billion bailout for hundreds of financially untenable banks and financial institutions, has expanded to encompass a mortgage-modification agenda and a public-private partnership program to purchase "toxic assets" with taxpayer funds. Today, Barofsky said, TARP encompasses 12 separate programs that could involve nearly $3 trillion, and his own office has already become "a sophisticated white-collar investigative agency" with 35 ongoing criminal and civil investigations.

Filed Under: Economy

Tagged: neil barofsky, NeilBarofsky, tarp, tarpmoney, Top Stories, TopStories

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