In 2008, the U.S. Government enacted two programs designed to shore up and restore confidence in key investment banking and mortgage lending institutions. The first of these programs was authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, enacted in July. The second was the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act enacted in early October. Collectively, they are often referred to as "The Bailout."
ProPublica is an independent not-for-profit organization that describes itself as devoted to investigative journalism in the public interest. One of the features at this organizations website is a frequently updated Bailout Tracker maintained by Paul Kiel and Dan Nguyen. As of June 2, 2016, they reported that, under the two bailout programs a total of $620 billion had been expended. More important, revenues returned to the government totaled $688 billion.
