Washington, DC – In a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, United States Senator Michael Bennet joined nine other members of the Senate Banking Committee – including Chairman Chris Dodd – in urging Secretary Geithner to use his authority under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to promote the marketability and ensure the sustainability of the state and municipal bonds market.
In their letter, the Senators urged Secretary Geithner to purchase or offer credit or guarantees for certain state and municipal bonds. These bonds, the Senators wrote, are used to fund some of the most “shovel ready” state and local projects across the country, which will create jobs and get the economy moving again.
“The turmoil in the credit markets has seriously affected states, cities and communities throughout the country which depend on access to the credit markets to finance critical infrastructure that is part of every-day American life,” wrote the Senators. “State and local governments have suffered serious increases in their borrowing costs and have had to make decisions that will reduce economic output, shrink our job base and worsen the quality of life for millions of Americans.”
The letter continues, “[We] believe that many of the problems of state and local governments related to variable rate bonds can be reduced or eliminated through the use of TARP funds to provide liquidity support for variable rate bonds of state and local governments.”