Yesterday, I looked at an amendment to the 2nd round of TARP (read: bailout) funds from Tim Walz that sought to increase transparency by requiring public disclosures mandated in the 2nd round bill be posted online. Unfortunately, it looks like none of these public disclosures or their online posting will happen, or at least be mandated. According to Chris Bowers at Open Left, Sen. Chris Dodd is not going to introduce mirror legislation to the 2nd round bill introduced in the House.

I just received confirmation from a congressional aide that Senate Banking Chair Chris Dodd will not introduce legislation in the Senate to mirror House Finance Chair Barney Frank’s bill, HR 384, to provide increased conditions, transparency and oversight on the second $350 billion of the Wall Street bailout money (otherwise known as TARP).

As such, the funds will be released without any further conditions attached to them. Given that incoming Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has been closely involved with the disbursement TARP funds so far, virtually nothing will change about the program whatsoever. We still won’t know which firms are receiving the money. We still won’t know how that money is being spent.

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TARP money will be released, without any new conditions, oversight or transparency attached to it. At this point HOPE has moved from a campaign slogan to a system of governance.