Implementing TARP: The Administrative Architecture of the Troubled Assets Relief Program

There was no time to waste once Congress passed the law that created the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP)¹ in early October 2008. Although we were not certain how the funds would be used, we knew we needed to quickly create an organization that could implement whatever those uses were, wisely and efficiently, and with the highest standards of transparency, fairness, and accountability—and one that could successfully straddle presidential administrations. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) authorized the Treasury secretary to establish TARP and provided $700 billion in funding, half of which was available initially. The law