Report: Obama Team to Meet With Administration on Releasing Rescue Funds

Barack Obama's presidential transition team reportedly has agreed to join Treasury Department officials as they meet with congressional lawmakers in a bid to convince them to release the second half of the $700 billion financial bailout package.

The Washington Post reported on its Web site Friday that Treasury officials are trying to solicit the president-elect's help to secure the money. Obama has not said whether Congress should release the funding, but his team's involvement in the discussions shows he's willing to engage in the debate, according to the article.

Congressional lawmakers have voiced resistance to releasing the rest of the money, and some have threatened to hold it unless the Bush administration pledges to use some of it to prop up the ailing auto industry.

During two days of hearings with the Big Three automakers' CEOs on Capitol Hill, lawmakers repeatedly expressed frustration with the way the administration was handling the rescue of the country's financial giants.

Click here to read the full article in The Washington Post.