Independent Oversights For Bailed Out Firms Not Yet Appointed

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The Treasury Department has already committed $290 billion of the $700 billion bailout fund six weeks after the program was approved by Congress. However, independent overseers mandated by Congress have yet to be appointed.

The oversight managers are tasked to prevent corruption and wastage of government funds. Also yet to be submitted is the first monitoring report required by law even if the first deadline has lapsed.

Overseeing temporarily the bailout program is Eric Thorson, inspector general of the Treasury Department, who admitted to the Washington Post being overwhelmed by the vast responsibilities on his shoulder.

The law creating the bailout program required the appointment of a special inspector general to be nominated by the White House and a congressional oversight committee to be named by legislators. Lawmakers are apprehensive that due to political squabbling in Capital Hill and bureaucracy may further delay the appointment of the overseers.

The special inspector general will have a budget of $50 million which would mainly be spent on the conduct of audits and investigations how the bailout fund is being used. According to the Washington Post, the leading candidate for the position is Neil Barofsky, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Barofsky was the prosecutor of the case that placed behind bars Phillip Bennett, the former head of Refco Incorporated, for the collapse of one of the world's largest commodities brokerages.