Show Me the Money: Call for Bailed Out Firms to Publicize Spending

Amid criticism, TARP-funded companies continue sponsorships.

ByABC News
February 3, 2009, 8:02 PM

February 4, 2009— -- Exactly how much are bailed out banks and corporations still spending on private jets, ritzy conferences, and sports sponsorships? Most have declined to provide figures, but they'll soon have no choice if one politician has his way.

Congressman Elijah Cummings, (D-MD), said it is this type of wasteful spending that prompted him to introduce new legislation today that would require corporations receiving TARP funds to publicly report their expenditures, on a monthly basis, on their websites.

"These bonuses…and trips and sponsorships," Cummings said, "we want them to be in a very visible place…so the public can easily see what they're doing with the money."

The Accountability from Corporations for Outlays Under TARP Act would require bailed-out firms to publish all expenditures on corporate sponsorships, corporate jet trips and ownership, lobbying, furniture and office equipment, employee compensation, events (including retreats and conferences), travel (including plane fares, rental cars, hotel and food expenses), club and corporate memberships, and employee cars.

This information, he said, would also help the treasury department decide where additional TARP funding should go and assist Congress in deciding whether or not additional bailout money is necessary.

"There are no requirements for transparency, no standard for accountability," Cummings said, adding, "It basically is a slap in the faces of hardworking Americans who have given up their tax dollars."

Following news reports yesterday that said Citibank was considering pulling out of its $20 million a year sponsorship of the New York Mets stadium stadium, the bank said the sponsorship was a "legally binding agreement" with the baseball franchise and would not be paid out of TARP funds.

And after Bank of America took flack this week for its sponsorship of a Super Bowl fan festival, the company said some media reports were exaggerated and defended its partnership with the NFL. Sports sponsorships are valuable, the bank said, because for every dollar invested, the bank gets $3 in actual profits.