Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr told Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson today that the government took a wrong turn in deciding that hundreds of billions in federal bailout money won't be used to buy troubled bank assets.

Burr, along with two other Republican senators, wrote in response to Paulson's announcement yesterday that the agency will look to help non-bank entities that offer credit card loans, student loans and car loans, Barb Barrett reports.

"We are concerned that the program has been fundamentally changed from its original intent," the senators wrote about the bailout, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

The group also worried that more changes could hurt oversight designed to protect taxpayers.

"Congress never intended for the TARP to be a blank check that could be spent with unlimited discretion," the senators wrote.

The letter was signed by Burr, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and David Vitter of Louisiana.