Rutland Herald - Sanders Calls for Bailout Abuse Ban

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Rutland Herald - Sanders Calls for Bailout Abuse Ban

By Stephanie M. Peters

Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., doesn't want business executives benefiting from the $700 billion federal bailout plan through hefty year-end bonuses at taxpayers' expense.

To prevent it, Sanders announced Wednesday that he'll introduce legislation when the Senate reconvenes next month calling for an end to the practice as long as the bailout is in effect.

"To the best of my knowledge, nobody said that as part of the bailout these very greedy millionaire executives would continue to receive bonuses," Sanders said in an interview. "No one said that and I don't think anyone would say that."

Sanders described it as "totally outrageous" that bailout funds should end up in the pockets of "the same people whose greed and irresponsibility helped cause the financial crisis."

His legislation will also propose capping the salary of these bank and insurance company executives at the $400,000 salary of the president next year, he said. That, too, will be contingent on the bailout plan still being in effect.

Sanders first took up the issue Friday, when he penned a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urging him to enforce more stringent restrictions on how bailout money is used. Wednesday, several leaders in both the House and the Senate echoed Sanders' message.

In a letter, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called on Paulson to heed voter outrage and enforce tougher restrictions on how much of the funds are put toward "golden-parachute" payments.

"News reports have suggested that six major financial institutions participating in the program have plans to pay their executives billions of dollars," Reid and Pelosi wrote. "Such reports understandably infuriate many Americans, who resent having their taxpayer dollars used to support such institutions, especially in light of the serious and growing economic pressures confronting working Americans."

Sanders said he was encouraged by the comments of Reid, Pelosi, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Republicans such as House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

"We think we're getting a little bit of momentum," he said. "A number of people have been talking about the issue. We're seeing bipartisan support."

Neither Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., nor Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., could be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon on whether they would support a proposal such as Sanders', however spokesmen from both offices said that the congressmen condemn such use of the bailout funds.

According to spokesman David Carle, Leahy "opposes using any taxpayer funds for corporate bonuses and welcomes all of the efforts that are under way to target any abuses."

Andrew Savage, a spokesman for Welch, said the representative "strongly supports efforts to crack down on bonuses or golden parachutes for executives who have mismanaged their companies or banks and seek federal assistance."

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