Posted on 03/19/2009 10:23:20 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Pelosi Blames Bernanke Over AIG Bonus Fiasco
By COREY BOLES
WASHINGTON -- House of Representatives Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke deserves at least part of the blame for American International Group Inc. executives receiving $165 million in bonuses at taxpayer expense.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Rep. Pelosi said it was the Fed that initially provided financial assistance to the beleaguered insurance giant in September, with little involvement from congressional lawmakers.
"The announcement was made by the chairman of the Fed [it] would be making this big infusion of cash into AIG without any prior notification to us," Rep. Pelosi said. "We didn't even know [the Fed] had that kind of money...That's when it all started."
In her comments Rep. Pelosi wanted to separate House Democrats from any responsibility for the bonus fiasco, which has ignited into a major political firestorm.
She said that last year the Bush administration resisted any attempts to include executive compensation language in the initial legislation creating the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
Rep. Pelosi also said the watering down of the compensation language in the economic stimulus bill was a matter between the Obama administration and Sen. Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. She said House Democrats were never involved in the negotiations.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
sure beats having to blame somebody in your OWN party....
Nancy and Congress are using AIG to cover the fact that THEY are RESPONSIBLE for what’s going on right now! Desperately trying to cover their asses is what they are doing.
Is it NEVER Speaker Pelosi’s fault. She is perfect.
“Is it NEVER Speaker Pelosi’s fault. She is perfect.”
She is a perfect example of how not to govern or be in charge of anything.
This is great!
The Party of Deny, Delay, Stall & Divertum
Blames the booboo on Bernanke
Priceless!
I wish someone would figure out how much we spent on the automatic raises congress just got then add in their staffs raises. Congress should be leading on cutting back, once I see the congress doing leadership I will get angry over AIG.
You are absolutely correct, Nancy. (However, as the House Majority Leader at the time, half of the the failure of Congress to get involved lies with you.)
So, who, exactly, in the Fed, was the architect of the deal with AIG back in September of 2008?
The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
And who was the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in September of 2008?
Current U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner
Okay so I have a question I hope somebody can answer:
I heard Rush mention it earlier about the bill from the House and the bill from the Senate had to match in order for it to go forth.
So, my question is, if most didn’t read it before they voted for it, who knows if it matches? Is it even a legal bill? Or is it even called a bill... what’s it called -
I’m having major memory issues today....
She is scared. She is afraid. She feels the tightening of the noose of truth that will strangle her hopes for a socialist utopia.
The sooner the breath is squeezed from her body, the better. Her last gasp will be a good event for America.
Sorry Nancy but this bill was wrote by the house and senate democrats and then was passed as quixckly as could be so no one had time to read it....so evryone who voted yes are guilty as charged adn no amount of denying it will ork. This is the democrats bill you folks own this one.
Since Pelosi is so caring of the funds of taxpayers, and critical of executives who take private charters, I suppose that Pelosi will be immediately cutting her staff by 50%, axing her compensation package, and returning the jet she’s using to travel back and forth to Washington immediately.
...is that crickets I hear? Least the people she’s being critical of haven’t cost this country almost two trillion dollars and are actually producing something. Yeah, someone get a picture of Pelosi hearing something like that in person.. The gaping maw of her ‘shock’ at her prestigious status being attacked would make a great poster child for limousine liberals everywhere.
So, how's the strategy working so far?
Hello Nancy, the Fed has no authority over insurance companies, only banks. The first Fed bailout had to be approved by Congress, remember? The second bailout of $40B was taken from TARP, which was also approved by Congress. Specifically TARP was approved by DEMS and voted against overwhelmingly by REPUBS. Finally, the last $30B traunch of AIG bailout was also approved by Congress two weeks ago. On top of it, the Stimulus plan was approved by Congress and signed by the 0bama. All this is on your plate, deal with it.
Who all voted on the bill without reading it first?
Answer the question!
Elementary, my dear Sir.
They got everybody's input that nobody ever read, put them together in one ten pound pile of paper that nobody ever read, then they put that ten pound pile of paper in a Xerox machine loaded with 20 pounds of paper then pushed the buttons for two collated copies.
One ten pound copy went to the Senate that passed it without reading it. One ten pound copy went to the House that passed it without reading it. One of the ten pound copies then went to the White House where Obama signed it without reading it.
Whose fault is it that you took a Senate bill and didn't have the House committees and staffers analyze it? Who pushed through a quick vote on it? Was anyone even allowed to read it in the House before you told them to vote for it?
Sorry, Nine-percent-Nan, this is entirely a Democrat bill from its first page to its last. Bernanke did not "force" Dodd that he had to exempt AIG's bonuses from any TARP controls. That was someone in the White House, possibly even Obama or maybe all the way to the Teleprompter itself. Or maybe Dodd was just lying about being forced to put in protections for his financial benefactors at AIG.
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