The House passed a resolution of disapproval Thursday designed to block release of the second half of the $700 billion financial bailout fund. But the vote will have no substantive impact.

The House by 270-155 passed the resolution, but the measure has virtually no chance of becoming law. The Senate last week rejected a similar resolution, thus allowing the Obama administration to tap the remaining $350 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) created last fall.

The remaining funds will be released on Jan. 27.

The program has been widely criticized by members of both parties, and Thursday’s vote gave House members a chance to vent their dissatisfaction and align themselves with the sentiments of their constituents.

“This is kind of a big public opinion poll for the House,” said House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank , D-Mass., who helped craft the bailout law.

Under the law, once the administration requested the second half of the fund, Congress had 15 days in which to adopt a resolution of disapproval — a resolution that would still be subject to a presidential veto.

President George W. Bush asked for the remaining funds — at the request of the incoming Obama administration — on Jan. 9.

“What is particularly troublesome is that President Obama was elected on the promise of bringing change, but another $350 billion is not change,” said North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx , the sponsor of the House resolution. “The reasoning seems to be that since President Bush got his slush fund, it’s only fair to grant the same to the incoming administration, but as I say, two wrongs don’t make a right.”