Why reading your own law before signing it is important.
Tip o' the hat to foolscap001.
This is a clause inserted by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) into the "stimulus" bill that Pres. Obama insisted had to be passed to stop the crisis from becoming a catastrophe.
From page H1412 of the Final Stimulus Bill, “SEC. 111. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE:
'(iii) The prohibition required under clause (i) shall not be construed to prohibit any bonus payment required to be paid pursuant to a written employment contract executed on or before February 11, 2009, as such valid employment contracts are determined by the Secretary or the designee of the Secretary.”
So not only could the bonuses not have been stopped as a matter of contractual law, Obama's own stimulus bill (oops, sorry, that's stimulus LAW - Obama signed it) forbids any attempt to prohibit the payment of the AIG bonuses.
I guess the president's outrage should be directed at himself and his cohorts in Congress.
Edit: According to opensecrets.org, Sen. Dodd was AIG's largest single recipient of campaign donations during the 2008 election cycle with $103,100. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sidestepped the question about Dodd's last minute addition of the clause that protected AIG executive's bonuses, saying, "Hindsight is 20-20.)
Feelings of contempt and disgust you may be experiencing are entirely understandable.
This is a clause inserted by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) into the "stimulus" bill that Pres. Obama insisted had to be passed to stop the crisis from becoming a catastrophe.
From page H1412 of the Final Stimulus Bill, “SEC. 111. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE:
'(iii) The prohibition required under clause (i) shall not be construed to prohibit any bonus payment required to be paid pursuant to a written employment contract executed on or before February 11, 2009, as such valid employment contracts are determined by the Secretary or the designee of the Secretary.”
So not only could the bonuses not have been stopped as a matter of contractual law, Obama's own stimulus bill (oops, sorry, that's stimulus LAW - Obama signed it) forbids any attempt to prohibit the payment of the AIG bonuses.
I guess the president's outrage should be directed at himself and his cohorts in Congress.
Edit: According to opensecrets.org, Sen. Dodd was AIG's largest single recipient of campaign donations during the 2008 election cycle with $103,100. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sidestepped the question about Dodd's last minute addition of the clause that protected AIG executive's bonuses, saying, "Hindsight is 20-20.)
Feelings of contempt and disgust you may be experiencing are entirely understandable.