President-elect Barack Obama is back to Capitol Hill today. He's meeting with Senate Democrats in an effort to get the remaining $350 million of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) released as soon as possible. Yesterday, after what was likely his final press conference as President, George W. Bush put in the official request for Congress to release the funds. TARP has critics all over the map. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), ranking minority member of the the House Financial Services Committee has said he will not support releasing the funds. Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank (D-MA) is pushing for a set of controls before he okays the money. And beyond politics, plenty of analysts question how the first half of TARP was handled by the Treasury Department. Barry Ritholtz lays out his criticism in seven points on The Big Picture . For example points 4: Wasting Taxpayer Monies : Why did private investors like Warren Buffett get so much of a better deal than Uncle Sam? Its clear to me that both Treasury and the Fed lack the expertise to negotiate these investments. Instead, set up a matching investment. Let those in the private sector with the expertise to do so make substantial arms-length investments, with the the US matching ( at 10 or even 20X) on the same terms. and 7: Moral Hazard : Why are we rewarding companies that were poorly managed, reckless money losers? All of the TARP recipients should have anyone senior management associated with the bad investments fired; bonuses suspended, shareholders wiped out. How are these firms paying dividends with government money? Where are the clawbacks of bonuses from Stan O’Neill, Angelo Mozilo, Chuck Prince? That the people responsible for the mess are even remotely profiting from it is simply unconscionable. Later yesterday, Obama's incoming director of the National Economics Council, Lawrence Summers, addressed concerns about TARP in a letter to Congressional Leaders in which he wrote that the President-elect agrees with the criticism that "there has been too little transparency and accountablity; too much upside for financial institutions and esecutives who acted irresponsibily without providing enough help for small business owners, families who are struggling to keep their jobs and make ends meet, and innocent homeowners." Summers went on to lay out five pledges from the incoming administrationaddressed 1) To use “Our Full Arsenal of Tools” to make sure credit gets flowing not just financial institutions but to “small businesses, auto purchasers, and municipalities.” 2) To reform oversight both of the TARP and our financial system at large, including “a full and accurate accounting of how the Treasury Department has allocated the funds spent to date and going forward.” 3) To “Launch a Sweeping Effort to Address the Foreclosure Crisis,” reducing the number of preventable foreclosures “by helping to reduce mortgage payments for economically stressed but responsible homeowners while also reforming our bankruptcy laws and strengthening existing housing initiatives like Hope for Homeowners.” 4) To impose new “tough and transparent conditions” on firms getting taxpayer money to ensure that the money is being used to get credit flowing and bolster the economy, not for personal profit. 5) To increase the role of private capital, and “invest taxpayer money only when sufficient private capital cannot be attracted.” You can read the full Summers letter here .