New GAO Reports: Auto Industry, Troubled Asset Relief Program

Auto Industry: A Framework for Considering Federal Financial Assistance, GAO-09-242T, December 04, 2008: “From our previous work on federal financial assistance to large firms and municipalities, we have identified three fundamental principles that can serve as a framework for considering future assistance. These principles are (1) identifying and defining the problem, (2) determining the national interests and setting clear goals and objectives that address the problem, and (3) protecting the government’s interests.”
See also Big Three Restructural Plans Presented To Congress
Troubled Asset Relief Program: Status of Efforts to Address Defaults and Foreclosures on Home Mortgages, GAO-09-231T, December 04, 2008: “Default and foreclosure rates for home mortgages rose sharply from the second quarter of 2005 through the second quarter of 2008, reaching a point at which more than 4 in every 100 mortgages were in the foreclosure process or were 90 or more days past due. These levels are the highest reported in the 29 years since the Mortgage Bankers Association began keeping complete records and are based on its latest available data. The subprime market, which consists of loans to borrowers who generally have blemished credit and that feature higher interest rates and fees, experienced substantially steeper increases in default and foreclosure rates than the prime or government-insured markets, accounting for over half of the overall increase.”