Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA, 2008)

1) Link to the Text of the Act
Read the statute (12 U.S.C. §§ 5201–5261)

2) Why It Was Done
Passed during the 2008 financial crisis, the Act authorized the U.S. Treasury to purchase or insure up to $700 billion of troubled assets through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to stabilize banks and credit markets.

3) Pre-existing Law or Constitutional Rights
No prior law gave the Treasury such sweeping authority to buy private financial assets. Critics argued it pushed the limits of the Commerce Clause and blurred the line between public and private finance, but it did not directly override constitutional rights.