How About Transparency for the "Bridge Loan To Nowhere?"

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 3:50 PM

Congressman Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and 19 other Members of Congress today sent a letter to President Barack Obama calling for more transparency and accountability with regard to the $700 billion financial markets bailout package - specifically the portion of the funds that got converted into loans for General Motors.

Their bottom line:

As the American people struggle though the Great Recession, they deserve better than a $25 billion loss in a non-transparent investment.

We agree. See the letter and the signers below:

Dear Mr. President:

Last December, the U.S. Treasury Department loaned General Motors $13 billion. In the spring, Treasury loaned GM another $6 billion. In June, days before GM declared bankruptcy, the Administration provided another $30 billion – just in time to convert taxpayer loans to equity taking ownership of GM.

All of these funds came from the Troubled Asset Relief Program – a bailout never intended for such purposes. As the Congressional Oversight Panel wrote last month, “the use of TARP funds for the automotive industry raises questions regarding both Presidents’ authority to use these funds under EESA legislation and, more broadly, under the U.S. Constitution.”

Last week, Steve Rattner, your former “Car Czar,” estimated that the taxpayers’ stake in GM now stands at $25 billion. If Mr. Rattner is correct, the Administration’s “Bridge Loan to Nowhere” lost half of the taxpayers’ money. And while sales for private-owned Ford Motors fell only 6% in September, government-owned GM saw a 45% decline.

Despite your Administration’s pledge of transparency, this “Bridge Loan to Nowhere” comes with none. American taxpayers remain in the dark when it comes to basic details of $49 billion in taxpayers’ money provided to GM.

How much should taxpayers expect to lose from the “Bridge Loan to Nowhere?” When will we see the minutes from Automotive Task Force meetings? When will we see all financial and operating information for GM – at the same level of detail that shareholders of any other major company would expect?

As the American people struggle through the Great Recession, they deserve better than a $25 billion loss in a non-transparent investment.

Sincerely,

Mark Kirk, John Boehner, Jeb Hensarling, Jeff Flake, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Doug Lamborn, Phil Roe, John Culberson, Lynn Jenkins, Judy Biggert, John Shimkus, Walter Jones, Tim Johnson, Bob Inglis, Randy Neugebauer, Kevin McCarthy, Pat Tiberi, Joseph Pitts, Paul Broun, Erik Paulsen

Tags: Bailouts Federal | Comments (2)

Reader Comments:

ITHINK THE GOVEMENT NEEDS TO STOP ALL SPENDING THAT GOS TO TRAP FUNDING. GET OUT OF BOTH WARS START SHOEING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IT CAN GET THIS COUNTRY OUT OF TROUBLE AND OUT OF DEBT TO CHINA. START BRING BACK INDUSTRY AND PUT OUR PEOPLE BACK TO WORK. THAT WILL INCREASE THE TAX BASE HELP THE GNP AND THE PEOPLE. IF YOU WHAT AMERICAN TO LIVE WITHIN THIER EARNINGS SHOW US THAT THE GOVERMENT CAN AND WILL TOO.

MARY GRIFFIN / 5130 SILVER SPRING RD November 1, 2009 @ 11:38 pm ID: 200807608

I was looking st where some of the stimulus money has gone. I see Harry Reid so far has taken $41,236,195.00 for NV. I think we need a complete change in Washington...from President to Congress. They are all back door dealers and lie like the snakes they are.

Nancy Anderson / Prescott, Michigan November 21, 2009 @ 1:46 am ID: 200807622

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