In an editorial published this morning, the Washington Post highlighted Senator Warner's bipartisan legislation, along with Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker, to create an exit strategy for the government's partial ownership of TARP-assisted companies such as AIG, GM, and Citibank:

[T]he Troubled Assets Relief Program's congressional oversight panel recently proposed that "to limit the impact of conflicts of interest and to facilitate an effective exit strategy, Treasury should also consider placing its Chrysler and GM shares in an independent trust that would be insulated from political pressure and government interference."

Legislation introduced by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and a Republican colleague, Bob Corker (Tenn.), would do just that. Under the proposal, any government equity stakes in private companies greater than 20 percent -- currently AIG, Citigroup and General Motors meet that criterion -- would move into a trust managed by three independent, nonpolitical trustees, appointed by the administration but removable only because of serious misconduct. The trustees would have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize return to the taxpayer. They would have to liquidate the government's interests by the end of 2011, but could delay if they can show Congress that it would be in the taxpayers' interests to wait.

Even Americans who don't embrace conspiracy theories are justifiably concerned about prolonged federal ownership of major businesses. They need reassurance that the likes of GM and AIG will not become political playthings, and it's in Obama's interest to work with those in Congress who are trying to provide it.

Click here to read the entire editorial.