US President Barack Obama on Monday hinted that leftover funds from a huge finance industry bailout could be used selectively to trigger faster job growth amid a deep unemployment crisis. Ahead of a major speech on the economy on Tuesday, Obama said another portion of the funds, unspent, or paid back by recovering banks to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) may also go to trim the massive budget deficit. The program was launched in October 2008 by former president George W. Bush to rescue teetering finance firms and banks which appeared on the verge of a massive default, which could have endangered the wider economy. 'TARP has turned out to be much cheaper than we had expected although not cheap,' Obama told reporters at the White House. 'Some of that money can be devoted to deficit reduction. 'The question is, are there selective approaches that are consistent with the original goals of TARP -- for example making sure that small business are still getting lending that would be appropriate in accelerating job growth? 'I will be addressing that tomorrow,' Obama said, adding that he did not intend to 'step on my speech' by previewing his speech at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday. Treasury sources said Monday that the government now expects to get back all but 42 billion dollars of the 370 billion dollars that it lent to troubled US firms since the financial crisis began last year. The program, which was authorized to stretch to 700 billion dollars is highly unpopular with the public and critics who criticized the act of bailing Wall Street finance firms blamed for triggering the economic crisis. The New York Times reported on Monday that the government could ultimately use 100 billion more from the bailout program in new loans to banks, aid to troubled homeowners and credit to small businesses. But the new estimates would lower the administrations deficit forecast for this fiscal year, which began in October, to about 1.3 trillion dollars, down from 1.5 trillion, the paper said. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives has already signaled she backs the idea of using unspent TARP funds to create jobs, with unemployment still at 10 percent, despite a small drop last month. Republicans have lashed out at the idea of diverting money from the bailout. 'TARP funds borrowed from the taxpayer should not become a slush fund for the political whims of Washington,' said Eric Cantor, the number two House Republican. 'The TARP was passed last fall because most experts believed that our capital markets were on the verge of absolute collapse. 'It was an action that no one really wanted to take, but it was an extraordinary amount of money that was passed because this country was in an economic emergency. 'This country is in debt, and the only responsible action is to pay it down, not preserve and expand it.' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday that no 'final determinations' have been made about using TARP money to create jobs, but said the idea was being actively considered by the Obama team. 