WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins made the following statement regarding legislation to impose a 90 percent tax on bonuses received by employees of certain companies that have received bailout funds.

“The $165 million in bonuses AIG recently made must absolutely be recaptured. I am an original cosponsor of legislation that would require Treasury Secretary Geithner to pursue every legal option to recapture 100 percent of the bonus payments made by AIG. I voted against the bill on the House floor today for one simple reason. It won’t get the job done. This retroactive tax does not recapture all of the taxpayers’ money; it sets a dangerous precedent for punishing individuals by taxing any behavior deemed inappropriate; and it may not even be constitutional.

“These bonuses are outrageous, but even more outrageous is that this whole situation could have been avoided. During the closed-door conference committee meetings for the Democrat’s so-called stimulus bill, a provision was slipped in that permitted the AIG bonuses to be paid. To add insult to injury, the conference committee stripped out an amendment by Senator Ron Wyden that would have banned executive bonuses. The Democrat Majority had opportunities to prevent this mess, but they shirked their responsibilities and put the American taxpayer at even more financial risk.

“The American people have every right to be furious and I share their anger. This Congress played a dangerous game with their money, and it’s time for the games to stop. I will continue to fight to recapture the AIG bonus payments, but unfortunately, the legislation today falls short of that goal and further complicates the financial mess this nation is struggling through.”