Fighting for Real Economic Accountability

March 19, 2009

Like all Americans, I was outraged to learn that AIG paid multi-million dollar bonuses to its executives while receiving $175 billion in taxpayer funds just to survive. That’s why I voted twice this week to recover 100% of these bonuses made at taxpayer expense.  We need to make the taxpayers completely whole.  A watered-down bill that would only recover part of the funds was brought before Congress, but that just wasn’t good enough. Instead, I supported a bill that would require the Treasury Department to fully fix this problem.  Specifically, this bill orders the Treasury Department to immediately recoup or stop the payment of AIG bonuses, and mandates that any company receiving taxpayer funds must seek Treasury Department approval for any future bonus payments or new bonus contracts.

Since the passage of the Troubled Asset Relief Program last fall, I have been repeatedly calling for accountability and transparency in how taxpayer money is being used.  So far, we haven’t gotten it.  The AIG bonuses may be one of the most egregious examples of how little oversight has been exercised over taxpayer dollars, but it is far from the only one.  When the $1 trillion stimulus package came before Congress last month, releasing even more unaccountable bailout money, I could not support it.  I was deeply concerned about how little we knew of the way these hundreds of billions of dollars were being spent.  I argued that the potential for waste, fraud and abuse was enormous.  Unfortunately, the AIG bonuses have proven just how ill-conceived that $1 trillion stimulus package was.  We are only beginning to understand the consequences. 

The time to act is now.  In the immediate term, Congress must pass the bill that I have cosponsored to recoup 100% of the AIG bonuses.  But that alone is not enough.  We must also continue to fight for full transparency and accountability for every penny of taxpayer dollars.  I have been fighting for this for several months.  And I will continue to fight for the American taxpayer.

My campaign for transparency and accountability has included:

• Writing to FBI Director Robert Mueller on October 10 asking him to triple FBI investigations into financial crimes.

• Writing to then Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke on October 17 expressing concerns with AIG’s misuse of taxpayer money to fund a lavish retreat. 

• Writing to then Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke on December 3 demanding greater transparency in the use of TARP funding and requesting additional details on how these funds were to be utilized. 

• Writing to Speaker Pelosi and Financial Services Committee Chairman Frank on December 10 requesting that they immediately call on the CEOs of all financial institutions receiving TARP funds to testify before the House Committee on Financial Services to explain how TARP funding has been utilized and how the taxpayers will be repaid.

• Voting for H.J.Res. 3, which rejected the request to provide President Obama with an additional $350 billion in unaccountable funding for TARP.

• Writing to Treasury Secretary Geithner on February 3 asking for further clarification on the Administration’s plans for the second tranche of TARP funding.

• Opposing H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which authorized the payment of bonuses to executives at AIG.

• Sponsoring H.Res. 251, a resolution of inquiry to demand that the Secretary of the Treasury provide the House with all information relating to specific communications with AIG.

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