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 In a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the senators said the program's unobligated funds should be used to reduce the national debt. The bailout initiative, called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, is scheduled to end Dec. 31, but Geithner could extend it to Oct. 3, 2010.
"While we understand that our economy is still recovering, we believe it can function without added TARP funding," the senators wrote.
Geithner has not indicated whether he plans to continue the program into next year. A Treasury spokesman said the department had no comment on the Senate letter.
Every Senate Republican except Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire signed the letter. The only Democrat to sign it was Mark Begich of Alaska.
Congress approved the TARP with bipartisan support in October 2008 at the request of then-President George W. Bush during the height of the financial crisis. Bush administration officials initially said the money would be spent to buy up bad assets from financial institutions. Under Bush and Obama, however, the rescue fund has also been used to bail out the auto industry and to obtain ownership interests in banks and in insurance giant American International Group.
"This direct investment certainly was not the intention of Congress in passing this legislation," the senators wrote to Geithner.
According to the administration's latest report on TARP, the Treasury has obligated $443.8 billion from the fund to specific institutions under signed contracts. Banks have paid back $70.3 billion of the assistance they received, and they have paid nearly $9.4 billion in dividends and interest payments.
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