House Chamber, Washington D.C.  April 21, 2009.  Mr. Speaker:  Many Americans have been shocked in recent days to learn that banks seeking to repay TARP money have been told the treasury will not allow them to do so.

 Taxpayers were promised that this money was only to be used to buy up toxic assets and that it would be repaid to the treasury as soon as humanly possible.

 And yet, when several banks have attempted to do precisely that, they’ve been told that the treasury will not allow them to do so.

 This is a travesty.  Just a few weeks ago, many members of this House reacted to the AIG bonus fiasco by saying, “We want our money back.”  And yet when some banks have attempted to do just that, they’ve been turned away at the treasury gates.

 M. Speaker, today I have introduced legislation to require the Secretary of the Treasury to accept TARP repayments unconditionally and immediately when they are presented.  I hope that I can count on the support of all those who promised constituents these funds would be repaid at the earliest possible opportunity.