WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Lawmakers at U.S.
Congress vowed on Tuesday to all but strip executives of the troubled American
International Group (AIG) of their 165 million dollars in bonuses.
The American International Group (AIG)
building in New York's financial district, March 16, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
House and Senate Democrats were crafting separate
bills to tax up to 100 percent of generous bonuses awarded by AIG and other
companies rescued by taxpayer money, according to U.S. media reports.
Republicans said U.S. President Barack Obama's
administration should have done more to stop the bonuses.
"Recipients of these bonuses will not be able to keep
all of their money," declared Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
"If you don't return it on your own we will do it for
you," Chuck Schumer of New York said.
The financially strapped AIG, which has so far
received more than 170 billion dollars in a federal rescue, was paying 165
million dollars of bonuses to its executives. In the fourth quarter of last
year, the insurance giant lost 61.7 billion dollars, the largest corporate loss
in history.
Obama pledged on Monday that his administration will
stop AIG from paying the "substantial sums" of bonuses to its executives.
U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner arrive in the East Room of the White
House in Washington March 16, 2009 to make announcements on helping small
business during the economic crisis. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
"How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers
who are keeping the company afloat," the president said, noting that the insurer
is in financial straits because of "recklessness and greed."
Obama said he has asked Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner to "pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the
American taxpayers whole."
AIG would not be the only company to be named by
either Democratic bill, but there was no question whose executives inspired the
legislation.
However, the bonuses for AIG executives were paid
legally, part of a program that had been disclosed in advance in filings that
the insurer made with the government, the U.S. media reported. Sharp questions
have been raised about what the administration knew about the bonuses, and
when.
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President
Barack Obama on Monday blasted insurance giant American International Group and
pledged to try and prevent it from giving its executives 165 million dollars in
bonuses after taking billions in federal bailout funds.
"It's hard to understand how derivative traders at
AIG warranted any bonuses, much less 165 million dollars in extra pay," Obama
said at the outset of an appearance to announce a plan to boost small businesses
loans. Full story
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Obama administration
on Monday unveiled a plan to help unlock credit for the nation's small
businesses, which have generated about 70 percent of net new jobs annually over
the past decade.
"We are taking immediate action to help ensure that credit
-- the lifeblood of America's small businesses and its economy -- gets flowing
again to entrepreneurs and business owners," said U.S. Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner, who with President Barack Obama unveiled the plan at the White
House. Full story
WASHINGTON, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Insurance giant American
International Group, which has received 173 billion U.S. dollars in federal
bailout cash, will still give its senior employees tens of million of dollars in
bonuses, The Washington Post reported. Full story
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government's
latest aid to the troubled insurance giant American International Group (AIG) is
critical, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday.
While answering questions raised by reporters, Gibbs did
not rule out future help for the ailing insurer. Full story
NEW YORK, Mar. 1 (Xinhua) -- American International
Group Inc. (AIG) will receive up to an additional 30 billion U.S. dollars in
federal assistance as part of the latest revamp of its government bailout, the
Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
The new funding is intended to support AIG as it
absorbs 60 billion dollars in quarterly losses and operational and competitive
upheaval. Full story
