Oversight of The Troubled Asset Relief Program - Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

The Comptroller General (director of the Government Accountability Office) is required to monitor the performance of the program, and report findings to Congress every 60 days. The Comptroller General is also required to audit the program annually. The bill grants the Comptroller General access to all information, records, reports, data, etc. belonging to or in use by the program.

On December 2, 2008, GAO released their first report on the bailout. Neel Kashkari, the OFS chairman, said in a letter to GAO that the department agrees with the report's findings and most of its recommendations but questioned GAO's suggestion to require more reporting from banks, saying gathering specifics from individual banks might not be the best way to evaluate the program. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the report's findings "discouraging." and that the report shows the program "is not accountable to American taxpayers."