Demanding Accountability in the Financial Bailout Package

Floor Speech

DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE FINANCIAL BAILOUT PACKAGE

Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, in July we bailed out entities with well-paid executives including Daniel Mudd, President and Chief Financial Officer at Fannie Mae ($11.5 million), and Richard Syron, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Freddie Mac ($18.3 million). Recent press reports show that a number of chairmen/CEOs were highly compensated before their companies began failing including Bear Stearns CEO, Alan Schwartz ($35 million), Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld ($40 million) and AIG's Martin Sullivan ($47 million).

Federal regulators rightly blocked planned golden parachutes for the failed leaders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we should now set that precedent into law--if you get a taxpayer bailout, you lose your job and your parachute.

Today, I am introducing legislation that will ensure that no taxpayer dollars can be used for executive compensation or a golden parachute for any senior officer of a company that received credit or direct assistance bailout. My bill also grants Treasury Secretary Paulson the authority to terminate senior officers of any entity seeking a bailout from the taxpayer.

Given the dire economic warnings, Democrats and Republicans must pull together to save jobs and strengthen the economy for working Americans. But this must be a bailout with consequences, including a prohibition on any taxpayer dollars used for senior officer salaries or golden parachutes and the termination of senior officers of companies receiving aid.

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