http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/09/AR2009010902846.html?hpid=topnewsIf Congress Fails to Approve Request, Administration May Use Veto Power
Senior Bush administration officials are preparing to ask lawmakers for the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue package despite intense opposition in Congress and then have President Bush use his veto if the request is voted down, three sources familiar with the matter said.
The initiative, which is being coordinated with the Obama transition team, may be taken within days, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made.
Democratic Senate aides were notified in a meeting this afternoon that the request could come as soon as this weekend and that a vote could be held as soon as next week, congressional sources said.
Under the emergency rescue legislation approved by Congress in October, the administration must inform lawmakers that it wants access to the second installment of $350 billion. Unless Congress passes a resolution rejecting the request within 15 days, the Treasury can begin to tap the funds. If Congress does turn down the request, the president could veto the resolution and then the Treasury could proceed.
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The plan now being crafted by the Bush administration is not finalized. By unsheathing the veto threat, the Bush administration could make it more likely that the Obama administration would get the rest of the rescue funds. Only if Congress overrides the veto would the money be blocked. A congressional source said advocates of the plan are now exploring whether there are enough votes in the Senate to sustain a veto.
"There have been discussions between the administration and the transition about how to proceed should the president-elect determine that he wants to have those funds available on January 20th," said Robert Gibbs, spokesman for the Obama transition team. "No final decisions have been made, but we want to be ready to act if needed."
The effort could also assure unsettled financial markets that more help is on the way.
In September, when current Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. presented the rescue proposal to Congress, the House at first voted down the plan. Global stock markets reacted by immediately plummeting. The initiative, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, eventually passed both chambers and was signed into law in October.
Bush officials committed nearly all of the first $350 billion to helping the financial system and bailing out individual firms, angering lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Some were steamed that no help was forthcoming for struggling homeowners. Others were angry that the effort failed to stimulate lending.
Government sources say a majority of lawmakers on Capitol Hill now do not support handing over more rescue funds to either administration.
Paulson repeated in an interview this week that the TARP funds are needed and that he is committed to working with Obama's team to access the second $350 billion. Treasury officials are worried that if a financial firm teetered, they have no funds left to support such a company.
Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy F. Geithner is working on ways to broaden the TARP to aid homeowners, small businesses, municipalities and other consumers.
