the end of henry paulson's tenure as treasury secretary can't come soon enough:

Capitol Hill hosted a contentious day of bailout battling on Tuesday, as in the morning the House Financial Services Committee grilled Bush Administration officials on the Treasury Department Troubled Asset Relief Program, and in the afternoon, auto industry leaders appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to plead for a piece of the bailout pie.

The day began with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and FDIC Chair Sheila Bair facing what the AP calls "exasperated lawmakers upset by shifts in bailout strategy." Paulson "launched a spirited defense" of his handling of the $700 billion TARP, but committee members "grilled Paulson for not doing enough to help distressed homeowners and for failing to force banks that get some of the bailout money to specifically use it to bolster lending to customers, one of the prime reasons behind the rescue package."

The CBS Evening News said Paulson "had a lot of explaining to do." CBS added Paulson "traveled to Capitol Hill armed with optimism," but "that wasn't nearly enough ammunition to face down angry House Democrats." Rep. Maxine Waters: "You, Mr. Paulson, took it upon yourself to absolutely ignore the authority and the direction that this Congress had given you, just amazes me." ABC World News said "Paulson and other top officials were called on the carpet." The Wall Street Journal says the "increasingly restive lawmakers greeted" Paulson and Bernanke "with a wave of criticism."

USA Today reports Chairman Barney Frank and other Democrats pushed Paulson and Bernanke "to support a $24 billion mortgage relief plan developed" by Bair. Paulson said he "had 'reservations' about using the $700 billion to directly aid homeowners but would keep searching for ways to address the housing crisis." Bair, however, "told lawmakers it was 'essential' Treasury offer loan guarantees and credit help to slow foreclosures, and warned that 4 million to 5 million mortgages will enter foreclosure over the next two years if nothing is done."

The Washington Post reports on its front page that "lawmakers are none too pleased with the way Paulson and his colleagues so far are handling the powers they were granted under the rescue plan." NPR's Day To Day reported Frank "said that banks aren't using all the money they've received from the federal government for lending," and "he said there's been no effort to reduce foreclosures." But the New York Times says Paulson "dug in his heels and said he wanted to put money only into financial institutions."

Bloomberg News says Paulson told the panel, "The rescue package was not intended to be an economic stimulus or an economic recovery package." The Hill reports Democrats "expressed confidence that the administration will soon make an effort to reduce foreclosures." After the hearing, the Financial Times reports, Frank told reporters that he "thought there would be movement from the administration on money for foreclosure relief."