Senators move swiftly on nominee to oversee bailout
The new IG would be separate from the Treasury Department and would be required to make regular reports to Congress.
Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Friday he will hold a hearing Monday on the nomination of Neil Barofsky, a federal prosecutor in New York, to be the special inspector general overseeing the Troubled Assets Relief Program.
Baucus authored the creation of this IG as part of the $700 billion financial rescue package.
"I will do everything in my power to thoroughly and quickly vet Mr. Barofsky, and to see a confirmed IG on the job without delay," Baucus said. "I've said before that I don't like bailouts, and my support for the financial rescue program was conditioned on this strong protection that the special IG can provide for taxpayers."
Barofsky would be responsible for conducting audits and investigations of the purchase, management and sale of assets under any program established as part of the economic rescue legislation. If confirmed, he would be required by statute to issue a report no more than 60 days later, and each quarter from there on out, detailing all purchases, obligations, expenditures and revenues associated with the bailout programs.
Elizabeth Newell contributed to this report.
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