Snowe says the program, scheduled to expire at the end of the year, has been abused at taxpayer expense.

Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe is throwing her support behind efforts to end the so-called Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.  The TARP program was originally intended to purchase toxic assets, and was then used to rescue banks and automakers during the financial meltdown that occurred during the waning months of the Bush administration.

Snowe, who has complained about the misuse of TARP funds, says the program should be allowed to expire on December 31. "While I am encouraged by the President's recent proposal to enable our small banks to access more TARP funds so they can, in turn, lend to credit-starved firms and entrepreneurs in the cities and towns they serve, the fact remains that the federal government's misuse of TARP funds has forced taxpayers to unnecessarily foot the bill for corporate failures," Snowe says in a statement. "The continuation of this program will further jeopardize taxpayer dollars."

TARP is scheduled to expire on December 31, but the U.S. Treasury Secretary can extend it until October 3, 2010. Snowe is co-sponsoring a bill that would repeal the provision allowing an extension, effectively terminating the program at the end of this year.