Federal Panel Says Bailouts Worked, Problems Remain

A panel set up to oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, concluded that the $700 billion recovery packaged accomplished its short-term goal of stabilizing the economy, but has not fulfilled the ambitious hopes Congress had for it, the Associated Press reports.

The finding was part of a yearlong review of TARP, which panelists completed by comparing the program's results against the metrics Congress set for it when it passed early this year. The review found mixed results for many of the program's initiatives, including bank capital injection, foreclosure relief, and automaker rescues. But overall, there was consensus that the program had quickly restored economic confidence.

"Confidence in our financial system has improved, access to credit is increasing, and the economy is growing. The government is exiting from its emergency financial policies and taxpayers are being repaid," the Treasury said. "Indeed, the ultimate cost of those policies is likely to be significantly lower than previously expected."

Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner announced Wednesday that the Obama administration would extend TARP funding until October 2010.

Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the only Republican on the review panel, refused to sign off on the report, and attacked TARP in separate comments as a politicized, failed effort.