Boozman Votes to Recoup AIG Bonuses

Press Release

Boozman Votes to Recoup AIG Bonuses

U.S. Representative John Boozman (R-AR) today showed his commitment to hardworking American taxpayers by voting to impose a new 90% tax on bonuses received by employees of companies that have received funds in excess of $5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

H.R. 1586 the Bonus Recoupment Tax Bill requires a 90% tax to any bonus given after December 31, 2008.

"This money was handed over to prop up failing businesses, not to give bonuses to undeserving executives of faltering institutions. We cannot sit back and watch wealthy executives profit from their mismanagement of taxpayer funds," Boozman said. "This is a very specific circumstance that I won't allow to become standard practice. I do not believe the government should tell private businesses how to operate, but in this instance we have taxpayer money being offered as a reward for bad behavior and that cannot be tolerated."

"This is a good example of a piece of legislation that is hastily crafted without regular order in legislative committees to examine its downfalls. We have seen problems arise because legislation has been brought for votes out of regular order. With that there are unintended consequences like what we faced today."

This week, AIG (American International Group) and Fannie Mae announced their intentions to pay millions of dollars in bonuses to company executives. Both companies have received more than $5 billion in TARP funds.

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