15SU N DAY, NOV E M BER 22 , 2009T H E E X A M I N ER
By Julie Mason
Examiner White House Correspondent
President Obama faces a year-end
deadline and no politically appeal-
ing choices for deciding whether to
extend a controversial, $700 billion
financial bailout program.
With the clock ticking down on
the Troubled Asset Relief Program,
or TARP, the administration seems
unsure -- sending out conflicting
messages and trial balloons.
"We are working to put the TARP
out of its misery," Treasury Secre-
tary Tim Geithner told lawmakers
last week. And no one would be hap-
pier than I am to see that program
terminated and unwound."
TARP was launched by President
George W. Bush's administration. It
was aimed at stabilizing the financial
sector in the panic of 2008. Obama
inherited TARP and diversified it to
include an automakers bailout and
other features.
But the program has been mired
in scandal nearly since its inception,
as some banks and other institutions
receiving the taxpayer money were
exposed for doling out lavish execu-
tive bonuses and failing to provide
loans and other services.
TARP quickly become a lightning
rod for popular discontent with the
Washington habit of throwing tax-
payer money at a problem and failing
to provide sufficient oversight.
There is currently about $142
billion in unallocated TARP funds,
plus some $80 billion in payback
and interest from banks. Unnamed
administration officials told ABC
News and the Washington Post that
the White House wants to extend the
program, but is struggling with how
to justify it.
"The problem you run into now is
you've got this fund around Wash-
ington, and anytime there's loose
change around Washington, people
have designs on it," said Sen. John
Thune, a South Dakota Republican.
"My concern is that it's going to turn
into a political slush fund that will be
used for all kinds of other things."
Thune, who voted for the original
TARP program, introduced a bill last
week to end it -- saying TARP has
done enough.
Geithner has declined to commit
either way on TARP, claiming the
matter is under consideration. Econ-
omists are divided on TARP, though
many say the federal spending held
off greater catastrophe.
"It is easy to imagine how much
the Treasury and the Administration
would like to extend as long as pos-
sible the power and independent
capacity they enjoy through the
operation of TARP," said Alex Pol-
lock, a former banker and resident
fellow at the American Enterprise
Institute. "But in my view, it is time
to observe its target expiration date
of December 31."
Mark Zandi, chief economist and
cofounder of Moody's Economy.
com, said TARP funding aided sig-
nificantly in bolstering the banking
and auto industries, but hasn't done
enough to stave off home foreclo-
sure.
"When all is said and done, TARP
will cost taxpayers a substantial sum
of money, but not nearly as much as
most taxpayers and policymakers
thought when the plan was con-
ceived," Zandi said.
The political calendar complicates
the decision for Obama. With Demo-
crats heading into what portends to
be a tough election year, the party
can't afford to draw more ire form
voters for profligacy.
Dedicatingaportionoftheremain-
ing TARP funds to pay down national
debt could mitigate the risk, but with
unemployment at 10.2 percent and
economic recovery slow, any move
by Obama to extend TARP into next
year could be a tough sell.
jmason@washingtonexaminer.com
Decision on bailout looms for Obama, Geithner
POLITICSWhite House
RECESSION
AP PHOTO/FILE
"We are working to put the TARP out
of its misery," Treasury Secretary Tim
Geithner told lawmakers last week.
By Philip Elliott
The Associated Press
President Barack Obama's
eight-day trip to Asia produced
no tangible wins for the United
States, though he is citing talks
with Asian allies that he says
could help create thousands of
job and open new markets for
American goods in the future.
Citing progress on a trip
that took him from Tokyo to
Seoul, Obama noted that "Asia
is a region where we now buy
more goods and do more trade
with than any other place in
the world -- commerce that
supports millions of jobs back
home."
"Ispokewithleadersinevery
nation I visited about what we
can do to sustain this economic
recovery and bring back jobs
and prosperity for our people
-- a task I will continue to focus
on relentlessly in the weeks and
months ahead," Obama said in
his weekly radio and Internet
address taped while he was in
Seoul, the South Korean capi-
tal, and released Saturday.
The president pitched his
trip as a way to reintroduce the
U.S. to those trading partners,
including China.
The Chinese government
is the United States' biggest
foreign creditor with $800
billion of federal U.S. debt,
which gives it extraordinary
power in the relationship. And
Beijing feels the global reces-
sion, sparked by U.S. financial
industry excesses, vindicates
its authoritarian leadership.
Obama told Americans
that there can be no solutions
to climate change or energy
without the cooperation of
Asian and Pacific nations.
Repeating a theme he used
abroad, Obama told the U.S.
audience that the discussions
directly affect U.S. national
security.
"We made progress with
China and Russia in sending
a unified message to Iran and
North Korea that they must
live up to their international
obligations and either forsake
nuclear weapons or face the
consequences," he said.
Obama hails Asia
trip as boost to
U.S. economy
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