A coalition of 78 groups, led by the National Taxpayers Union and Openthegovernment.org, sent a letter to Congress today calling on representatives to make the financial-industry bailout program more transparent.
The letter noted that nearly half of the $700 billion approved for the Troubled Asset Relief Program has been allocated "with very little transparency and almost no oversight.'' The groups urged Congress to require the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and other agencies to collect information on how the bailout money is being spent by the recipients and to make their findings available to the public.
The groups said in their joint letter that the Federal Reserve -- which does not require Congressional approval to provide money to banks and other financial institutions -- has provided at least $800 billion in aid without providing any specifics.
"The public deserves vigorous, timely and easily accessible disclosure of all details surrounding any government decisions regarding financial market problems,'' the groups wrote. "We ask that you honor this by making sure that robust and effective oversight occurs and that all relevant records are collected and publicly available.''
The signatories included groups from various points on the political spectrum, including the American Conservative Union and Public Citizen, the organization founded by Ralph Nader. The Society of Professional Journalists also joined the effort, as did the Sunlight Foundation, a group dedicated to increasing access to public records.
The groups said that an estimated $8.5 trillion in taxpayer money has been committed to financial-rescue initiatives. That total includes capital investments in banks; loans and loan guarantees for financial institutions and businesses; restructuring aid to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and other measures aimed at the housing and credit markets.
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