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ARTICLE · 15 JANUARY 2009

Bailout 2.0: The Coming Changes

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As the 111th Congress begins its work, one of the first items to receive attention will be the Troubled Assets Relief Program, better known as TARP

United StatesFinance and Banking
Robert Clarke
Robert Clarke
Marc Mukasey
Marc Mukasey
Patrick Oxford
Patrick Oxford
Scott Segal
Scott Segal

As the 111th Congress begins its work, one of the first items to receive attention will be the Troubled Assets Relief Program, better known as TARP. This Monday, at the request of President-elect Obama, President Bush asked Congress to approve the second $350 billion tranche of TARP funds. Under TARP, the funds will be released unless the House and Senate pass resolutions of disapproval. Resolutions have been introduced in both the House and the Senate, and votes could occur as early as the end of this week. If either house fails to pass the disapproval resolution, or if Congress cannot override a Presidential veto of the joint resolution, then the funds will be available to the Executive branch. Notwithstanding the disapproval resolutions, Congress appears poised to make statutory changes to TARP that could impact past and future recipients of TARP funds.

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