WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today released the following statement on her vote in support of bipartisan legislation aimed at recovering taxpayer dollars from companies that received federal assistance and rewarded executives with excessive bonuses. The legislation, H.R. 1686, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support this afternoon in a 328 to 93 vote.
Rewarding hard work, success and responsibility is a tried and true American value. It has served us well for more than 200 years and will continue to do so as we undertake the most pressing public policy issue of our time: rebuilding our economy.
This is why I strongly supported legislation today that will recover taxpayer dollars from companies that received federal assistance and, in a blatant violation of public trust, rewarded their employees with excessive bonuses.
It is beyond comprehension how companies like AIG can with one hand take federal assistance and with the other use that assistance to reward the executives who brought that giant insurance firm to the brink of collapse. These bonuses are a slap in the face to the hard-working families who today are struggling to put food on the table, pay their mortgages, cover rising health care costs and send their children to college.
The bill that I voted for will hold companies accountable by imposing a 90 percent tax on the lavish bonuses paid to employees of companies that have received more than $5 billion from the Troubled Assets Relief Program. TARP was intended to stabilize credit markets, not reward high-flying derivative traders for their reckless financial decisions.
The bill that passed the House today with overwhelming bipartisan support recognizes that fairness and integrity are critical as we work to rebuild our economy.