Tracking the Auto Bailout

I’m working to hold the Treasury Department accountable for the sale of the taxpayers’ share of General Motors and make sure taxpayers get the very best deal possible after having funded the government’s takeover of the automaker. 

I didn’t support the government bailout of the automakers.  And I’ll continue to do whatever I can to make sure taxpayers are repaid to the maximum extent possible. The need for accountability with the Treasury Department and GM was emphasized by the public relations campaign launched a few months ago, when the Treasury Department and GM claimed the automaker had paid back its $6.7 billion government loan with interest and ahead of schedule. 

The hype and the TV commercials with that claim left out a key fact:  GM “repaid” the taxpayers not with the company’s own cash, but with other funds controlled by the Treasury.  The money came from the tax dollars used to purchase GM stock.  And the Treasury Department approved the transfer of bailout dollars.

I pressed the Treasury Department to come clean and officials had to admit that GM did, in fact, use a taxpayer account to repay its bailout loan. It’s one thing for the government to bail out GM.  That’s objectionable enough to a lot of us.  It’s adding insult to injury for the government and GM to claim the taxpayers have been repaid when they haven’t.

My advice to the Treasury Department, GM, and everybody else who’s in on a bailout – just tell it like it is, including what this latest sale means for the taxpayers’ bottom line.   Shuffling money around and hiding facts is what caused the financial meltdown in the first place.