Reporting Requirements in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA, Division A of H.R. 1424,
which was enacted on October 3, 2008, as P.L. 110-343) established numerous reporting
requirements regarding a variety of issues.1 Some of the reporting requirements are
assigned to newly established entities in the act, including the Financial Stability
Oversight Board,2 the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP),3 and the Special Inspector
General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIG TARP).4 Other reporting requirements are
given to agencies and officials who existed before the enactment of EESA (e.g., the Secretary of
the Treasury and the Comptroller General of the United States).5 The recipients of these reports
also vary, as well as their timing, frequency, and factors that trigger their development. These
differences notwithstanding, all of the EESA reports appear to share a common purpose--to
provide information to Congress and other entities on the implementation of the act's provisions.

This report describes the various reporting requirements in EESA and is organized according to
the entities required to prepare and submit the reports. The report also provides some concluding
observations regarding those requirements. The Appendix of the report summarizes the act's
reporting requirements in terms of those responsible for producing and receiving the reports, the
timing of the reports, and when the reports are scheduled to end.

Reports by the Secretary of the Treasury

Section 102(b) (Troubled Asset Relief Program)
Section 101 of EESA authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury "to establish the Troubled Asset
Relief Program (or `TARP') to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase,
troubled assets from any financial institution." Section 102(a) states that if the Secretary of the
Treasury establishes TARP, "then the Secretary shall establish a program to guarantee troubled
assets originated or issued prior to March 14, 2008, including mortgage-backed securities."6
Section 102(b) says that, "Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall report to the appropriate committees of Congress on the program established
under subsection (a)."7 Section 3(1) of EESA defines the term "appropriate committees of
Congress" in the act to mean "(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the
Committee on Finance, the Committee on the Budget, and the Committee on Appropriations of
the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on Ways and Means, the
Committee on the Budget, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives."

On December 31, 2008, the Department of the Treasury filed the required Section 102(b) report.8
The report describes the Asset Guarantee Program that was established pursuant to Section 102(a)
of EESA, including its objectives, how eligible institutions are determined, TARP accounting and
Treasury's loss position, and other potential asset guarantee programs being considered. An
appendix to the report described responses to an October 2008 Federal Register notice that asked
for comments on programs consistent with Section 102.9

Section 105(a) (General Reports)
Section 105(a) of the act states that, "Before the expiration of the 60-day period beginning on the
date of the first exercise of the authority granted in section 101(a), or of the first exercise of the
authority granted in section 102, whichever occurs first, and every 30-day period thereafter, the
Secretary [of the Treasury] shall report to the appropriate committees of Congress." Each such
report is required to contain

(1) an overview of actions taken by the Secretary, including the considerations required by
section 103 and the efforts under section 109;

(2) the actual obligation and expenditure of the funds provided for administrative expenses
by section 118 during such period and the expected expenditure of such funds in the
subsequent period; and

(3) a detailed financial statement with respect to the exercise of authority under this Act,
including (A) all agreements made or renewed; (B) all insurance contracts entered into
pursuant to section 102; (C) all transactions occurring during such period, including the types
of parties involved; (D) the nature of the assets purchased; (E) all projected costs and
liabilities; (F) operating expenses, including compensation for financial agents; (G) the
valuation or pricing method used for each transaction; and (H) a description of the vehicles
established to exercise such authority.

Section 105(d) of the act requires that this report also be submitted to the COP. Section 105(g)
states that this reporting requirement "shall terminate on the later of (1) the date that the last
troubled asset acquired by the Secretary under section 101 has been sold or transferred out of the
ownership or control of the Federal Government; or (2) the date of expiration of the last insurance
contract issued under section 102."

On December 2, 2008, the Department of the Treasury filed its first Section 105(a) report,
covering the period ending on November 30, 2008.10 The report describes the department's
Capital Purchase Program, the Systemically Significant Failing Institutions Program, and other
initiatives (e.g., the Citigroup financial assistance package). It also describes TARP administrative
actions (e.g., recruitment of key staff, procurement actions, and compliance guidelines and
reports).

Section 105(b) (Tranche Reports)
Section 105(b)(1) of the act requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide to the "appropriate
committees of Congress"

a written report, including (A) a description of all of the transactions made during the
reporting period; (B) a description of the pricing mechanism for the transactions; (C) a
justification of the price paid for and other financial terms associated with the transactions;
(D) a description of the impact of the exercise of such authority on the financial system,
supported, to the extent possible, by specific data; (E) a description of challenges that remain
in the financial system, including any benchmarks yet to be achieved; and (F) an estimate of
additional actions under the authority provided under this Act that may be necessary to
address such challenges.

Section 105(b)(2) requires this report to be submitted "not later than 7 days after the date on
which commitments to purchase troubled assets under the authorities provided in this Act first
reach an aggregate of $50,000,000,000 and not later than 7 days after each $50,000,000,000
interval of such commitments is reached thereafter."11 Section 105(d) of the act requires that this
report also be submitted to the COP. Section 105(g) of the act states that this reporting
requirement "shall terminate on the later of (1) the date that the last troubled asset acquired by the
Secretary under section 101 has been sold or transferred out of the ownership or control of the
Federal Government; or (2) the date of expiration of the last insurance contract issued under
section 102." As of mid-January 2009, the Department of the Treasury had issued four of these
tranche reports.12

Section 105(c) (Regulatory Modernization Report)
Section 105(c) of the act requires the Secretary of the Treasury to "review the current state of the
financial markets and the regulatory system and submit a written report to the appropriate
committees of Congress not later than April 30, 2009, analyzing the current state of the regulatory
system and its effectiveness at overseeing the participants in the financial markets, including the
over-the-counter swaps market and government-sponsored enterprises." Section 105(c) also
requires the report to provide "recommendations for improvement, including (1)
recommendations regarding (A) whether any participants in the financial markets that are
currently outside the regulatory system should become subject to the regulatory system; and (B)
enhancement of the clearing and settlement of over-the-counter swaps; and (2) the rationale
underlying such recommendations." Section 105(d) of the act requires that this report also be
submitted to the COP. Section 105(g) of the act states that this reporting requirement "shall
terminate on the later of (1) the date that the last troubled asset acquired by the Secretary under
section 101 has been sold or transferred out of the ownership or control of the Federal
Government; or (2) the date of expiration of the last insurance contract issued under section 102."

Section 114(a) (Market Transparency, Pricing)
While not a formal reporting requirement, Section 114(a) of the act states that, "To facilitate
market transparency, the Secretary shall make available to the public, in electronic form, a
description, amounts, and pricing of assets acquired under this Act, within 2 business days of
purchase, trade, or other disposition." The Department of the Treasury's website contains links to
reports on these transactions.13


Endnotes

1
For more information on EESA and related issues, see CRS Report RL34730, The Emergency Economic Stabilization
Act and Current Financial Turmoil: Issues and Analysis, by Baird Webel and Edward V. Murphy.
2
The Financial Stability Oversight Board comprises the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Chairman of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
3
Members of the COP are appointed as follows: one each by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority
leader of the House, the majority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate; and one by the Speaker
and the majority leader of the Senate, after consultation with the minority leaders in each house.
4
The Special Inspector General is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. For
more information on how the Special Inspector General for the TARP compares with other inspectors general, see CRS
Report R40099, The Special Inspector General (SIG) for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), by Vanessa K.
Burrows.
5
For more information on the oversight and audit responsibilities established in the act, see CRS Report RL34713,
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act: Preliminary Analysis of Oversight Provisions, coordinated by Curtis W.
Copeland.
6
For more information on EESA's insurance program, see CRS Report RS22969, The Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act's Insurance for Troubled Assets, by Baird Webel.
7
Because EESA was enacted on October 3, 2008, this report appears to be required by January 1, 2009.
8
See http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/eesa/congressionalreports102.shtml for a copy of this report.
9
U.S. Department of the Treasury, "Development of a Guarantee Program for Troubled Assets," 73 Federal Register
61452, October 16, 2008.
10
See http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/eesa/docs/TARPfirst-105report.pdf for a copy of this report.
11
On October 28, 2008, the Department of the Treasury transferred the first $115 billion of EESA-related funds to
participating institutions. See the remarks of Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Anthony Ryan at
http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/hp1240.htm. As required, the first of these reports was published on November
4, 2008. See http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/eesa/docs/Tranche-Reportfinal.pdf for a copy of this report.
12
See http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/eesa/tranche-reports.shtml for copies of these tranche reports.
13
See http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/eesa/transactions.shtml for copies of these transaction reports.