Congress watchdog urges tighter TARP management

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress' investigative watchdog said on Thursday that the Treasury Department needs to keep closer track of money disbursed by the government's $700-billion bank bailout program.

The Government Accountability Office told a Senate committee that the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) also needs "a clearly articulated vision" and stronger internal controls and that Treasury should review and toughen the program's conflict of interest mitigation plans.

(Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)