Washington, D.C. – Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-NC) joined Congressmen Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Joe Wilson (R-SC) and additional House Republicans in sending a letter today to United States Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to urge that any Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) repayment received from banks does not get recycled back into the program. Instead, the lawmakers urged that TARP repayments be used to pay down the more than $11.3 trillion national debt.

The letter to Secretary Geithner states, “We understand through media reports that the Department of the Treasury is poised to announce that some recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds will soon be allowed to repay those funds. We strongly urge you to designate these repaid funds to pay down the national debt.”

“The government borrowed money to pay for the TARP program when it began, and the American taxpayer deserves to be the first one repaid on this debt. As you accept TARP funds repayment, we urge the Department to use those repaid TARP funds to pay down the national debt so that the American taxpayer is repaid,” the letter continues.

“By using the money to pay down the national debt, you can ensure that the funds are not recycled, and ensure the TARP program does not become a revolving fund that is unaccountable to the American taxpayer. As authors of legislation that would make these changes in law, we will continue to work hard in Congress to enact these reforms so that Americans have more confidence that taxpayer dollars are being used wisely,” the letter concludes.