WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following recent reports that the American International Group Inc. (AIG) paid $165 million in executive bonuses, McKeon and House Republicans are demanding answers from Congressional Democrats and the Administration and demanding the American people get back 100 percent of their money.
    "I am outraged by reports that AIG has paid million dollar bonuses to company executives — this is after receiving billions in taxpayer assistance," said McKeon. My constituents — and Americans across the country — are irate by AIG's arrogance. Enough is enough," he continued. "Americans deserve to have every penny of that money returned to them. And it's time Democrats started answering some serious questions: When did Secretary Geithner know about the bonuses? When was President Obama informed about the bonuses? We need answers from Senator Chris Dodd and other Democrats about their knowledge of these bonuses and why a provision was included in the stimulus package that allowed this to happen to taxpayer money. We need answers now."
    House Republicans, all of whom voted against the stimulus bill that included language allowing the AIG bonuses, are demanding Democrats give the American people answers.
    "The stimulus bill was written behind closed doors, was released after 11 pm the night before the vote, and was jammed through Congress," said McKeon. "Not a single Republican voted for the bill, in part because none of us were able to read the 680 page measure. It's becoming clearer that some Democrats allowed this language to be slipped in the stimulus, most Democrats didn't read their own bill, and now they are formulating a cover-up for their mistakes. The American people are smarter than that and aren't going to stand for this political posturing. I say to the Democrats: We need answers!"
    McKeon wants Americans to get 100 percent of their money returned to them. The Congressman is a cosponsor of legislation to stop bonuses to AIG executives by directing the U.S. Treasury to recoup the payment of AIG bonuses within two weeks.
    The legislation will do essentially do three things:
    • Direct Treasury to implement a plan to recoup within the next two weeks the payment of AIG bonuses.
    • Require any future bonus payments, of any kind, to Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) recipients, to be approved in advance by Treasury.
    • Any future contractual obligations entered into by TARP fund recipients to make bonus payments of any kind must be approved in advance by Treasury.