Providing For Consideration Of Motions To Suspend The Rules

Floor Speech

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF MOTIONS TO SUSPEND THE RULES -- (House of Representatives - March 19, 2009)

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Mr. DOGGETT. AIG--It has become shorthand for ``Arrogant, Irresponsible Greed.'' The big difference between the AIG insurance bootleggers and Ponzi felon Bernie Madoff is Madoff hasn't asked for a bailout yet, although taxpayers are providing him public housing in prison.

Of course, we wouldn't need to react so swiftly today about these outrageous bonuses if more people had been willing to speak out, not in January, but last September, when the Bush bailout provided almost $1 trillion on unconditional terms. So many here accepted it, hook, line and sinker. Some of us urged last September the dangers of a bailout with no effective limitation on executive compensation, or on compelling taxpayers to bail out the rest of the world.

Well, today's bill is very important in restoring Eisenhower-level taxes to those who took these bailouts. We need to ensure that it gets to the bonuses paid to foreign AIG employees. We need to question why this bailout helped AIG provide 20 European banks almost $60 billion, without asking them to sacrifice one red cent.

The same arrogance and indifference to the struggles of American families that necessitate today's bill, means that some of the most creative people in the world are already working to find ways around the bill. They will use the same creativity they have employed to dodge their tax responsibilities by going to offshore tax havens, and creating subsidiaries, and other creative means that we need to guard against in this legislation.

Meaningful reform means getting behind thoroughly crafted legislation that returns accountability, transparency, responsibility, and the rule of law to markets that haven't had the rule of law for the last 8 years.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Ms. PINGREE of Maine. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. DOGGETT. Ever since the Bush Administration insisted taxpayers fund a near bottomless bailout, the problem has been battling the mindset that some folks are special--they are above responsibility for their actions, above any public accountability.

Today's legislation is important. It has been swift. It is an overdue step that Congress needs to take, but it must be the first step, not the last.

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