Washington, DC -- Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) said that the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is repaying the taxpayers with higher returns than any public market and enough money to fund the Security and Exchange Commission for the next 20 years.

According the statistics compiled by Bloomberg, the U.S. government, and by extension, the taxpayers have earned $25.2 billion on its investment of over $300 billion in banks and insurance companies.  The marks an 8.2% return over the two years – numbers greater than U.S. Treasuries, high-yield savings accounts, money market funds and certificates of deposit.  TARP was enacted in late 2008 to save the economy and help to stabilize the faltering financial markets and to avoid a second Great Depression.

“TARP had bipartisan support when it passed, because it simply had to pass.  We had no other choice, as the alternative was potential ruin.  As we fast forward two years, that investment not only did its job, but it is now paying dividends for the American people.  The policies of the Bush era, and of the Republican majority, put us in the position to need a bailout, but it is the Democratic majority and President Obama who is collecting on the debt owed to the American people,” said Rep. Engel. 

Congress passed, with minimal support from Republicans, and President Obama signed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act this year.  This is the most sweeping piece of Wall Street reform legislation in decades.  This landmark reform will end the era of abuses by big banks that have cost the American people 8 million jobs and $17 trillion in retirement savings and net worth, and create a consumer financial protection bureau that finally puts American consumers first.

“The Democratic Majority voted to reform the way Wall Street does business, to prevent the need for another TARP and to finally end the “too big to fail” business culture which led to the 2008 crisis.  The Republicans are vowing to repeal that reform.  They claim to want to ‘end TARP,’ which has already come to a profitable end. The bottom line is that Democrats managed to turn the taxpayer’s investment into our economic recovery, and at a profit.  Democrats spearheaded the long road to recovery with the stimulus.  Democratic policies have led to the creation of more jobs in two years than in the entire eight year reign of President Bush.  There is no reason to try and erase the successes of the last two years by bringing back the failures of the previous eight.”

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