AIG Bonuses vs. The Constitution (Spoiler Alert)

20 Mar, 2009 by Representative Virginia Foxx

Who wins when the politically potent AIG bonus issue takes on the U.S. Constitution? I hate to report that things aren’t looking good for the Constitution.

Yesterday Congress passed a bill to tax AIG bonuses into oblivion. Sounds great, right? It turns out the legislation is probably unconstitutional (look up “bill of attainder”).

Instead of taking a steady, measured approach to these outrageous AIG millionaire bonuses, Congress did the very thing that got us into this mess in the first place: rushing into questionable legislation in a panic. Anyone else remember the TARP? Or maybe the “dead of night” stimulus package that authorized the AIG bonuses?

Congress could have passed something constitutional and more effective. In fact, I’m a co-sponsor of a bill–H.R. 1582, the Executive Bonus Real Act–that claws back every last cent and does it faster than yesterday’s legislation would.

Taxpayers have sunk $170 billion into AIG and we’ve become sidetracked by bonus payments that amount to 1/1000th of that amount. We need a bailout exit strategy, not unconstitutional and politically expedient legislation that may actually make the problem worse.