WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- The federal Troubled Asset Relief Program officially ends Sunday, but its effects will be felt through next month's midterm elections, officials said.
The $700 billion program was started under the George W. Bush administration, and might have averted a second Great Depression, The Hill reported.
White House Press Secretary Roberts Gibbs said the program will end up costing taxpayers about $50 billion, and was a success, despite public outcry over bailing out Wall Street.
TARP is "one of the most effective emergency programs in financial history," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said.
Firms receiving TARP funds have repaid hundreds of billions in loans, the newspaper said.
Despite the program's success, Republicans and Democrats on the campaign trail are experiencing the wrath of angry constituents who opposed the bailout.
For example, Sen. Bob Bennett, a Utah Republican, lost a close primary earlier this year after his opponent persistently criticized his support of TARP, the report said.
Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, a Democrat, used some of her first Senate campaign ads to criticize Republican Rep. Roy Blunt's 2008 support of TARP, and Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Colo., used some of her first ads in August to criticize the Wall Street bailouts.
But Republicans are firing back at Democrats, the newspaper said.
"The TARP program is alive and actively funding the Democrats' liberal agenda," said Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee.
