Burr: Paulson violating intent of bailout

Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr told Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Thursday that the government took a wrong turn in deciding that hundreds of billions in federal bailout money won't be used to buy troubled bank assets.

Burr, with two other Republican senators, responded to Paulson's announcement Wednesday that the agency will look to help entities other than banks that offer credit card loans, student loans and car loans.

"We are concerned that the program has been fundamentally changed from its original intent," the senators wrote about the bailout, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

The group also worried that more changes could hurt oversight designed to protect taxpayers.

"Congress never intended for the TARP to be a blank check that could be spent with unlimited discretion," the senators wrote.

The letter was signed by Burr, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and David Vitter of Louisiana.

"There's not transparency in what [Paulson] is doing," Burr said this week. "This is not what I think Congress signed off on, and if he feels he's got the flexibility, we need to look at removing some of the flexibility."

Jones wants openness

The public deserves to know the details of the Federal Reserve's emergency loans to the nation's financial institutions, says U.S. Rep. Walter Jones.

The Farmville Republican told Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke that he should reconsider the denial of a Freedom of Information Act request from the Bloomberg News agency asking for details on the spending of nearly $2 trillion of taxpayers' money.

"At a time when many Americans have serious concerns about their own financial security, it is important for our nation to have confidence in the actions of the Federal Reserve," Jones wrote in a letter to Bernanke. "When taxpayer dollars are used to bail out financial institutions, the American people deserve full disclosure on who receives those funds and under what terms."

Guv's suggestion box

Beverly Perdue is ready to take your suggestions.

The governor-elect has set up an online "Suggestion Box" for North Carolinians to submit their ideas and feedback as she begins her administration.

The comment form requires a first and last name and e-mail address.

Similar online forms and petitions have been used by politicians in recent years as a tool to gather addresses of potential supporters.

Road money tumbling

State transportation officials expect road construction money to continue decreasing in the next two years.

The department's revenue from gas and car sales taxes is down 11 percent, or $317 million, from what was budgeted in July, according to Mark Foster, the department's chief financial officer.

"We're not anticipating a rebound over the next couple of years," Foster told the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee Thursday.

Foster said the department expects a similar decline in the budget that runs from July 2009 to June 2010. Prices for construction materials have skyrocketed, especially on petroleum-based asphalt, while gas and car sales taxes have fallen because of fewer car purchases and less driving. The gas tax also was capped at 29.9 cents two years ago instead of rising with gas prices to pay for similar rises in asphalt prices.

The current dip in gas prices and lower construction bids have helped, Foster said, and could speed construction.

"We're not sure where this story ends," Foster said.

Rockin' guys beat all

"Rocking Chairs" was the most effective Senate ad this year, according to Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post.

On The Fix blog, the reporter wrote that an ad by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee featuring two old men discussing Sen. Elizabeth Dole's record (and hinting at her advanced age, not so subtly) helped Kay Hagan win the race.

"Rarely does a single television ad change the direction of a race," Cillizza wrote. "This one did. Run by the DSCC independent expenditure arm in early August, the ad, which features two older men sitting on rocking chairs and debating Dole's lack of effectiveness and support of President Bush, framed Dole as changed and out of touch -- the narrative that ultimately beat her. This, to our mind, was the single most effective ad run in any Senate race in the country."