Sunday, March 22, 2009

'Blame Dodd' Attacks Ignore Facts

He would have outlawed AIG-type bonuses, but Treasury and the White House got his ban removed.

Summary

Some Republicans have been quick to blame Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut for allowing big bonus payments to AIG executives. They get the facts backward.

The public record shows Dodd authored an amendment that would have prevented "any bonus" being paid to top executives of firms getting bailout money. It was the White House and the Treasury Department that insisted Dodd's amendment be watered down to apply only to bonuses paid under agreements signed in the past five weeks. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has taken public responsibility for that.

Note: This is a summary only. The full article with analysis, images and citations may be viewed at FactCheck.org

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