Murray: Where have the bailout dollars gone?

Murray: Where have the bailout dollars gone?

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Story Published: Jan 5, 2009 at 10:10 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jan 5, 2009 at 10:12 PM PDT

By KOMO Staff

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SEATTLE -- As Congress heads back into session, the country's new economic stimulus package is on hold. And U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., blames partisan politics.

A recent Associated Press investigation showed out of 21 banks that received billions in bailout money, none of them could or would say how they spent their portion of the bailout.

"There is a serious concern among many of us about where that money is going and if it's doing what we wanted it to do," said Murray.

The senator said she needs to know the answers before the Senate approves the second half of the bailout -- another $350 billion.

President-elect Barack Obama pitched the latest package to Congress on Monday. But Senate Republicans are calling for hearings and oversight on how the money will be spent. Murray sees it as a possible tit-for-tat after Democrats questioned how the Bush administration and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are spending the bank money.

"Treasury Secretary Paulson is responsible for giving the money out and making sure what it is used for is exactly what we intended it for," she said.

Murray said a stalemate by the two sides could mean long delays to the economic recovery package, which could hurt Washington state directly.

She wants $5 billion from the package to rebuild the Bonneville Power Administration, an aging energy giant, and to create 50,000 jobs across the state.

Obama said his $775-billion economic stimulus package would create millions of new jobs and provide tax cuts for middle-class families.

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