AIG Anger: House Passes Heavy Tax on Bonuses

Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly at 1:33 PM on March 19, 2009.

The House passed its measure today to recoup the controversial AIG bonuses. While there was some question going into the vote as to whether the two-thirds needed for passage would be there, the bill was approved rather easily.

The measure, which also applies to bonuses at other large bailed-out companies, passed 328-93. There were 85 Republicans who voted yes, and six Democrats who voted no. [...]

The bill would place a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid out by firms receiving at least $5 billion in bailout money. The tax would apply to individuals and families with overall income exceeding $250,000.

The Republican alternative -- a non-binding measure asking the Treasury Department to think of something -- was rejected. Imagine that.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who helped orchestrate this vote very quickly, exclaimed, "We want our money back and we want our money back now for the taxpayers."

Passage in the Senate appears likely.

Update: Here's the final roll. Republicans were clearly divided on the issue, with 85 voting for it and 87 voting against it. Even the minority party's leadership was split -- Boehner opposed the measure, while Cantor, have hedging earlier, supported it.

Tagged as: congress, democrats, republicans, house, anger, aig, outrage, bonuses

Steve Benen is "blogger in chief" of the popular Washington Monthly online blog, Political Animal. His background includes publishing The Carpetbagger Report, and writing for a variety of publications, including Talking Points Memo, The American Prospect, the Huffington Post, and The Guardian. He has also appeared on NPR's "Talk of the Nation," MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show," Air America Radio's "Sam Seder Show," and XM Radio's "POTUS '08."