It’s been about two months since the U.S. Treasury Department implemented its Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). With nearly half of the initial $700 billion available under the program already committed, many people are wondering whether the program is working. In a report released today, Congress’s own watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), confirms what many have already concluded – that nobody knows if the program is working, and there isn’t any way of knowing because the mechanisms “To help ensure the program’s integrity, accountability, and transparency” are not in place. GAO does concede that it may be too early to tell if the program is working, but goes on to explain that, regardless, the measures for making that judgment are not in place.

Two other mechanisms intended to assure Congress and the public that TARP would not simply become a budgetary black hole, are also short on results. The five-member Congressional Oversight Panel missed the deadline for its first mandatory report, and another five-member panel, the Financial Stability Oversight Board, doesn’t have any staff. As one Congressional aide said , “It's sort of a joke in terms of oversight.”  And finally, implementation of the Special Inspector General created by the legislation to oversee TARP is being held up by an anonymous Senator.