Bob Kerrey Admits He Worked For A Company That Tried To Exploit A Loophole To Gain TARP Funds

Kerrey Served On The Board Of Directors For Genworth, Which Tried To Get TARP Funds

During the financial meltdown in 2008, liberal Democrat Bob Kerrey served on the board of Genworth and this past weekend, Kerrey admitted to KHAS-TV that his company attempted to exploit a loophole in order to receive TARP funds.

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During the interview, this slick speaking New Yorker tried to convince Nebraskans that he was doing the FDIC a favor by purchasing a bank in Minnesota.   

Additionally, Nebraska Watchdog recently reported that Genworth, who was paying Kerrey over $200,000 a year to advise the company, unsuccessfully tried to exploit a loophole to gain TARP funding.  The story notes, Project on Government Oversight  – a nonpartisan government watchdog group – was critical of Genworth’s actions, saying they were “trying to jump on the gravy train.”

As Nebraska Watchdog reports: 

A fundraiser today for U.S. Senate candidate Bob Kerrey in Washington, D.C., was sponsored by 10 people with connections to an insurance company that tried to buy struggling banks as a means of getting bailout money from the federal government a few years ago. … The Project on Government Oversight – a nonpartisan government watchdog group – was critical of the insurance companies’ bid to buy banks to obtain bailout money, saying they were “trying to jump on the gravy train.” The group said in a letter to Congress that while the move was legal, “These insurance companies, investment banks, and credit agencies seem to be straying from their business models to become traditional banks.”  “We think that these companies’ back-door efforts to access TARP funds is a violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the Act and does not comport with the real interests of the taxpayer,” the group said. (Deena Winter, Kerrey Served on Board of Insurance Company that tried to get Bailout Money by Buying Troubled Banks, Nebraska Watchdog, 04/19/12)

“Liberal Democrat Bob Kerrey didn’t just support the government bank bailout, it appears he also tried to profit from it as well,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox. 

Read more at NRSC