Taxpayers are naturally eager for news about bailout repayments. But what neither G.M. nor the Treasury disclosed was that the company simply used other funds held by the Treasury to pay off its original loan.<\/p>\n
Neil M. Barofsky, the inspector general overseeing the troubled asset program, revealed this detail when he spoke before the Senate Finance Committee on April 20.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s good news in that they\u2019re reducing their debt,\u201d\u009d Mr. Barofsky said of G.M. But he went on to note that G.M. was using other taxpayer money to make the loan repayment, according to the transcript of his testimony.<\/p>\n
Armed with this information, Mr. Grassley fired off a letter to Mr. Geithner on April 22, asking for details of the transaction. \u201cI am concerned … that this announcement is not what it seems,\u201d\u009d he wrote. \u201cIn fact, it appears to be nothing more than an elaborate TARP money shuffle.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n