The legislation enacts a plan the congresswoman outlined earlier this month and will stop the Treasury Department from handing out more taxpayer dollars without Congressional oversight.
     The Department of the Treasury has proposed "recycling" returned monies by re-loaning them to other banks requesting assistance from the federal government.
     The congresswoman first called on Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to use the $68 billion already repaid to address the nation's record $11.4 trillion debt in a letter on June 11. She said June 24 that the secretary had not yet acknowledged her request, and the Repaying the American Taxpayer Act will ensure that these funds are spent appropriately.
     "We need to take real steps to restore financial responsibility in this country, and using taxpayer money for even more bank bailouts is not going to get the job done," Kirkpatrick said. "Even as we push to create jobs and get folks back to work in the face of this economic crisis, we should make sustainable fiscal policies a top priority." The bill will also ensure that the department will be held accountable for its decisions to bail out Wall Street executives. When bailout funds are returned, the debt ceiling for the Troubled Asset Relief Program will be reduced by the same amount.
     To distribute additional funds, Geithner would need legislative approval - "giving Congress the chance to do its job and stop wasteful spending," she said.
     "Working families in my district are tightening their belts and getting by on less to get through the economic downturn. This government needs to start following their lead," Kirkpatrick said.
     "The Repaying the American Taxpayer Act will help folks here show some discipline and do more with less."
     The congresswoman is working with members on both sides of the aisle to bring fiscal responsibility back to Washington. Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Howard Coble (R-NC), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Sue Myrick (R-NC) have joined her and Reps. Larry Kissell (D-NC), Bobby Bright (D-AL) and Parker Griffith (D-AL) in co-sponsoring this bill.
     "Fiscal balance is not a 'red' or 'blue' issue, and it is something that Democrats and Republicans need to do better on. Our record debt is the cumulative effect of 10 years of both parties being irresponsible with taxpayer dollars," Kirkpatrick said.
     "We need to come together and start making the tough choices it takes to reduce spending."