TARP conditions bill under way in House: Hoyer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation is being prepared in the U.S. House of Representatives, and may come to the floor as soon as next week, to require more transparency and accountability from businesses getting taxpayer aid under the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial bailout plan, a senior lawmaker said on Wednesday.

House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer said the bill being prepared by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank would also mandate more spending on mortgage relief under the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

"Barney Frank is working on legislation to require transparency and accountability of any TARP additional funding. In addition to that, requirements that substantial sums be used for mortgage relief," Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, told reporters in a briefing.

(Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)