Bush overpaid banks in bailout, watchdog says


WASHINGTON – The Bush administration overpaid tens of billions of dollars for stocks and other assets in its massive bailout last year of Wall Street banks and financial institutions, a new study by a government watchdog says.

The Congressional Oversight Panel, in a report released Friday, said last year's overpayments amounted to a taxpayer-financed $78 billion subsidy of the firms.

The findings added to the frustrations of lawmakers already wary of the $700 billion rescue plan, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Congress approved the plan last fall, but members of both parties criticized spending decisions by the Bush administration and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Financially ailing insurance giant American International Group, which the Treasury Department deemed to be too big to be allowed to fail, received $40 billion from the Treasury for assets valued at $14.8 billion, the oversight panel found.

In December, in response to questions from the oversight panel, the department wrote that the value of preferred stock purchased by the government was "at or near par," meaning Treasury paid $1 for every $1 dollar of asset.

"The way the Treasury secretary described it does not fit with the numbers that were produced in our much more extensive valuation analysis," panel chairwoman Elizabeth Warren told reporters Friday. "The secretary of the Treasury described it in December that these were par transaction and that is not supported by the numbers."

The continued scrutiny comes as new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner prepares to place the Obama administration's imprint on the program with a sweeping new framework for helping banks, loosening credit and helping reduce foreclosures. Geithner plans to unveil the changes Monday.

And while Paulson is gone and Geithner is in charge, the program itself remains in the hands of Neel Kashkari, a holdover from the Bush administration.

More Here;
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090206/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/bailout_oversight

WOW!

Imagine all the speechless Republicans now...

What, No comments from the Republican economists?

I don't think speechless is the word, after all it will be obama and his lib. buddies that will fall flat on their face with this new trillion dollar bailout...you have to acknowledge this boondoggle if you acknowledge the one the dems and Bush passed earlier.. and he is just getting started..

I'm an Independent. I have always voted for the man, or woman, and not the party. Which means many times I have voted for Republicans. For President, I have never voted for a Dem until John Kerry. I went with him because Bush and his criminal allies made things obvious that the Republican Party was corrupt through and through and to the core. What is happening now in Congress just reinforces that thought in my mind.
So much so that from here forward I will never vote for a Pube. When I dont like the Dem candidate, whatever the political position and I have a vote, I will go libertarian, or Green, or anything but Republican.
To me the party is dead and I will vote accordingly!

we need Stalin not obama the spinless so sayer

A sincere diplomat is like dry water or wooden iron.
Joseph Stalin

More just ignoring the same, old, partisan banter from the left.

For the record, the Democrats wrote the bill. Their hurry and pork in order to get republicans on board was the major issue. They neglected to set boundaries and instead handed the treasury dept a check with no strings attached. The treasury department is who spent the money and the Dems gave him the power to do it.

So once again, stop blaming one side and admit that everyone was to blame, as ususal.

The first bill which was rejected offered no oversight of the TARP funds and was proposed by Paulson on Bush's behalf.

Instead of trying to convince Americans the recession was a mental one and ignoring the experts warnings, the Bush Administration should have been doing something a few years earlier.
Trying to put this fiasco off on the Dem Party is like putting the holocaust off on the Jews.

WRONG!!!!!!

Paulson's proposal failed the House vote.

What did pass was the amended proposal with enough pork to feed china. Guess who controlled the Senate? Guess who controlled the house? Guess which party voted yea more than the other?

Everyone's to blame. period.

Paulsons proposal failed because even the Republicans couldnt see just handing that amount over to the Bush Administration with no strings attached and no one monitoring where the money went.
I can provide links if you cant remember!

Doesn't change the fact the democrats are to blame as well. and either way, Bush didn't have the power - Paulson did.

Paulson was appointed by Bush, despite his past, and could have been replaced at anytime.

The decision to follow his advice was Bush's.

And the democrats voted for it. come on, just say it:

"the democrats are to blame too."

I agreed with the plan when monitoring devices were put in.

Only problem is Bush and Paulson had no intention of allowing it to be monitored.


The proof is in the pudding.
The pudding is the OP.