For Immediate Release: Thursday, March 12, 2009
Contact: Mary Ellen Burke, (202) 349-5880

Americans for Prosperity Outraged by Rep. Waters’ Misuse of Taxpayer Dollars to Further Personal Agenda

WASHINGTON- Today, NYTimes.com reported that Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, used her political influence to pressure U. S. Treasury officials to grant $50 million in bank bailout funds to OneUnited—a bank for which her husband served on the Board of Directors and owned at least $250,000 worth of stock in the institution.

As a result, OneUnited received a cash infusion of $12 million last December through the Treasury's bank bailout effort, the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

In regards to Rep. Waters’ personal connection to the funding, Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity released the following statement:

“Rep. Maxine Waters allegedly steering funds to her husband's bank is an example of the kind of abuse you get with massive government bailouts of industries. When trillions of dollars are being spent with little accountability, it's far too easy for millions to be abused for political purposes. We need a return to real fiscal discipline and an end to the wasteful and abusive spending of our children's future.”