WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo), a member of the Senate Leadership Whip team, appeared on Fox Business Network with hosts Liz Claman & Liz MacDonald.  The following are excerpts from the program:

 

Senator, what is next? (Referring to the A.I.G. bonus controversy) We know that we don’t think these people should be getting the bonuses, but what can be done?

BARRASSO: Well let’s go back: we don’t agree on everything, and I was one to call before they even started the first TARP, to say we need accountability, taxpayers need to get value for their money, we need oversight, and that’s why I voted against these big bailouts from the beginning. But I have to tell you, taxpayers deserve more than they’re getting. Taxpayers own this company, 80% of the company right now. I think the taxpayers have a right to see every one of these contracts. You know, they’re still talking about bonuses for 2009. I don’t think any of us knew about these bonuses until after the payments were made. When you see what they’re talking about now, and you read the letter from the president of the company, Mr. Liddy, who said we’re going to try to cut the retention bonuses in 2009 by 30%. They could still be talking about over $100,000,000 in bonuses for future work.

BARRASSO: One of the statistics that you didn’t talk about, is that one of the employees of AIG, who made over 4.6 million dollars, is no longer with the company. So they paid retention bonuses, and people have left. These are supposed to be the best and the brightest. To me, these are the people that took the greatest risks, they’re the people that have been the most reckless, and I don’t think the American taxpayers are being well-represented by any of these bailouts. We had four separate bailouts of AIG, and to think that in none of those four, that the people overseeing this, would have taken the steps to look at these bonuses, to look at the contracts, to say hey, if you want your money, that you’re asking the government to pay for, then you need to do these specific things, because once you accept money from the government, you have a whole different level of obligation and responsibility to the American people.

You bring up a good point.  The question is, the government, the US taxpayer, now owns about 80% of AIG, isn’t anybody in Congress saying look, we’re majority owners here, let’s get the money back?

BARRASSO: Well, I’m certainly saying it. What is it, 73 employees got over a million dollars. Seven of them got over 4 million dollars. I would say those seven that got over 4 million dollars ought to walk out in front of the building, and now as a matter of character say, it’s about their—

BARRASSO: Character, it’s a matter of principle. They ought to give their money back, and say, I’m part of the solution, not the problem. Right now, they’re all part of the problem in my opinion.

 

I agree. They’re out there in London, in some office building, and they don’t care about America. They don’t care about all of this drama here, I mean who from America’s going to come get them and hunt them down? Some of them might be sitting there saying I don’t have a job, hey, I’m definitely taking this bonus. How do you fight that?

BARRASSO: Well, you continue to fight it, because I am for America and specifically for the American taxpayer. I want to make sure American taxpayers get value for their money, and they are not getting it with AIG. You know when there’s a bankruptcy, then you go in and actually clean up the contracts, and do new contracts.  And you know I think when the government goes in to take over one of these companies at this level, they ought to be able to renegotiate those contracts, and get rid of these retention bonuses for the best and the brightest, who really I don’t think have done the country very well at all.