Firms That Got Bailouts Aid GOP

Companies that received money from the much-reviled federal bailout—also known as Troubled Asset Relief Program—are now giving to the politicians who attacked their rescue. The 23 companies with political action committees that received at least $1 billion in TARP funds gave a total of $1.4 million to candidates in September. These companies include GM, J.P. Morgan, and Citigroup. Despite the fact that only three Republicans voted for the bill in the Senate, most of the money is going to Republican candidates. In fact GM gave $5,000 to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who opposed the bailout of GM and Chrysler, saying he could not "ask the American taxpayer to subsidize failure." TARP was passed under and signed by President Bush. The generous funding for Republicans is partly due to the expectation that they’ll win big in November, but it’s also due to the Democrats’ efforts to adopt financial regulation.