Press Releases

While many in Congress are expressing outrage at the AIG bonuses, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is outraged that they were not outraged at the bad bills they voted for that left the door wide open for this kind of abuse. After pointing out the prior abuses of bailout money and recent reports that AIG paid $165 million in executive bonuses after receiving $173 billion in taxpayer-funded government bailouts, the Texas Congressman wondered out loud where was the President’s promised “Change.”
 
In a heated floor speech this afternoon, Gohmert stated that he didn’t support Congress’ deficit spending when the Republicans held the Majority and had hoped the “change” in power would at least reverse the spending trend. However, despite Democrats’ promises of “change,” Gohmert noted the runaway spending has reached unprecedented levels, and he urged the President to stop the madness.
 
Gohmert clearly disdained the bonuses going to those responsible for running one of the country’s largest businesses into the ground and that those executives still have their jobs. He sarcastically noted that their achieving all of this and THEN convincing the government to give them $173 billion in taxpayer money may be a big enough accomplishment to deserve a bonus, but he did not think so. After the floor speech, Rep. Gohmert stated, “Every time this Administration has overseen one dime of tax dollars being transferred to AIG, it had the legal and moral authority to dictate new terms including no bonuses.”
 
Gohmert further complained that the President broke his promise during his address to a Joint Session of Congress last month when his Administration hastily provided more in the way of bailouts without implementing the proper restrictions to ensure accountability and protect American taxpayers from such abuse.
 
Gohmert recalled the words of the President during February’s address to Congress, when Pres. Obama stated, “I understand that on any given day, Wall Street may be more comforted by an approach that gives banks bailouts with no strings attached, and that holds nobody accountable for their reckless decisions. But such an approach won't solve the problem…This time, CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over.”
 
However, this week’s revelation of AIG’s lavish rewards proved those days are, in reality, alive and well.
 
The Judge-turned-Congressman said President Obama should be implementing policies that lead to true change rather than just reading the words from a teleprompter.
 
To view Gohmert’s full speech, click here.
 
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