I strongly support imposing a $500,000 pay cap on executives whose firms receive government financial rescue money. It is inexcusable for taxpayers' hard-earned money to be used to pay Wall Street executives inflated salaries or excessive bonuses. The American people should not subsidize extravagant vacations or office make-overs.
My constituents in Southern Arizona, like most Americans, are struggling through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. They are trying to figure out how to put food on the table, send their children to college and run their businesses. Wall Street should not insult them by behaving as if nothing is wrong.
I share President Obama's believe that the Troubled Asset Relief Program funding was designed to stabilize the credit markets, not reward executives for their failures. These caps on executive compensation should apply to all of the companies already participating in TARP as well as those that benefit in the future.
Giffords has introduced the Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance Act to curtail executive compensation and bonuses for all recipients of funds distributed through the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). She also is an original cosponsor of the Limit Executive Compensation Abuse Act, which would put constraints on executive salaries, bonuses and stock options for recipients of TARP assistance so executives will not receive more compensation than is paid to the President of the United States.