Cantor, Webb outraged by AIG bonuses

Displeasure at excessive corporate bonuses for financial organizations receiving federal bailout dollars is one thing Virginia’s Congressional delegation can agree on.

Senator Jim Webb, D-Va., and Congressman Eric Cantor, R-Richmond, both released strong statements Tuesday reacting to recent news that American International Group or AIG, an international financial services and insurance company, awarded its executives $165 million in bonuses.

According to the Associated Press, AIG reported this month that it lost $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter of last year. Meanwhile, the company has benefited from more than $170 billion in federal “rescue” funds.

“There is nearly universal agreement in the Senate that AIG ... is out of line by offering excessive bonuses to some of the very executives that helped to feed the financial crisis by investing in toxic assets,“ Webb said. “The American people deserve accountability on how their money is spent.“

According to Webb, AIG received $197 billion in federal dollars “with little apparent oversight.“

“Of that amount, AIG has distributed tens of billions of dollars to foreign banks—more than the entire amount loaned to the auto industry,“ he said. “Most agree that government action was necessary to stabilize the financial system, but lavish bonuses and payouts to foreign banks were not Congress’s intent and do not represent proper usage of taxpayer money.“

Webb said he would continue to push the administration and Congress to strenghten oversight of how private companies are spending taxpayer money.

Cantor, in his release, focused on “the stunning lack of accountability for taxpayer dollars” associated with the multiple stimulus or rescue packages approved under the Bush and Obama administrations. He challenged the new Democratic administration to put it all out in the open.

“To date, the Administration still has not put forth a plan to show taxpayers how the government will be accountable for how their dollars are spent. Whether it is (Treasury) Secretary (Timothy) Geithner or someone else, the Administration must account for the spending of taxpayer dollars and answer the question as to why taxpayers were forced to reward some of the executives who created this mess,“ said Cantor, Minority Whip.

He said a last minute, Democratic-inserted provision in the stimulus bill protected bonuses like those received by AIG executives.