Citi aid highlights need for mortgage help-Rep Frank

WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A top U.S. lawmaker on Monday said the Treasury Department's decision to use funds from the $700 billion bailout fund to aid Citigroup Inc (C.N) highlights the government's failure to effectively provide home foreclosure relief.

Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said tens of billions of dollars are still available for mortgage relief from the first $350 billion of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

"As I told (Treasury Secretary Henry) Paulson when he informed me this morning of his decision to provide funds for Citigroup, I believe it is essential that TARP funds be used immediately to fund mortgage foreclosure relief," Frank said in a statement.

The U.S. government has bailed out Citigroup, agreeing to shoulder most of the potential losses on $306 billion of high-risk assets and inject $20 billion of new capital in its biggest move yet to rescue a bank. (Reporting by Karey Wutkowski, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)