One of the concerns Taxpayers for Common Sense and others have raised about the bailout funds is that the beneficiaries weren’t being forthright about how they were spending the money. While the agencies involved were cooperating with watchdog and auditing agencies, the banks and other recipients were stonewalling.

A letter sent yesterday by Neil Barofsky, the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Assets Relief Program, to Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of Senate Finance Committee, discloses that the newly-approved agreements with Chrysler, GMAC, General Motors and Citibank contain binding agreements that require better disclosure. For example, the Citibank agreement provides the TARP IG access to Citigroup personnel and records and requires that the company disclose exactly how the bailout funds are being used.

We commend IG Barofsky for his quick start on the job. It is our understanding that he has made key hires and landed office space right by TARP. Now we hope he gets the remaining 280  or so banks who received bailout funds to start disclosing how they are spending the money.