WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins made the following statement after the introduction of legislation to require the Treasury Department to recoup the payment of $165 million in AIG bonuses that were sent on March 13. 

“From day-one I opposed the bank bailout that increased government intervention into the private financial markets. The American taxpayer has been forced to foot the bill for far too long for the bad decisions made by financial institutions that were deemed ‘too big to fail.’ Today, we found out that AIG used some of their bailout money to give bonuses to many of the same executives who got them into this problem in the first place. Any institution, which takes taxpayer dollars, should be held to the highest possible standard to ensure that the American taxpayer gets a return on his investment. This bill will help make that happen.”