Guaranteed to Upset the Left!
For Immediate Release
March 19th, 2009
“The 2008 money received by the President and members of Congress should clearly be returned, but more than that, the honorable thing would be for any politician who has ever received a penny from AIG to return it to the American taxpayers who are now paying to keep the company afloat.”—ALG President Bill Wilson.
ALG Demands President Obama and Members of Congress Return AIG Bonuses from their Campaign Coffers
Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
March 19th, 2009, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today in a letter urged President Barack Obama and members of Congress to “return the $4.37 million they received in campaign contributions from AIG since 1989, including the $644,218 they received in 2008.”
“If the American people are to believe all the angry words and threats coming from the White House, President Obama must return the $104,332 he received from AIG during the 2008 campaign cycle,” declared Wilson in a statement.
According to OpenSecrets.org, AIG gave some $644,218 to candidates for federal office in 2008. According to Wilson's letter, “[I]n return, it received from the Federal Reserve some $173 billion in taxpayer-guaranteed loans. That represents nearly a 27 million percent return on their 2008 'investment' into politicians' loyalty.”
“The 2008 money received by the President and members of Congress should clearly be returned, but more than that, the honorable thing would be for any politician who has ever received a penny from AIG to return it to the American taxpayers who are now paying to keep the company afloat,” Wilson said.
“These campaign kickbacks must be returned,” Wilson added.
President Obama received $104,332 from AIG in 2008 of the $110,332 in contributions he has ever received from the company. “President Obama received 94.56 percent of the money he has ever gotten from AIG, and yet he has not returned it since the bailouts began in September,” said Wilson.
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) in 2008 received $103,900 of the $281,038 he has ever received from AIG. According to the letter, “in the 2009 'stimulus' legislation, [Dodd] inserted the amendment that guaranteed that bonuses would be paid by adding language to a spending cap that specifically excluded executive bonuses included in contracts.”
“Only 11 of the 314 members of the Democratic Congressional majority voted against the 'stimulus' and protecting the AIG bonuses, and now they act shocked as they pretend to have never read the 1100-page bill that they are responsible for that cost $787 billion,” Wilson said.
Wilson believes that campaign contributions from AIG and other bailout firms represent “a clear case of pay-to-play corruption.”
“The corrupt cesspool in Washington needs to be drained where 'too big to fail' firms get taxpayer-guaranteed bailouts from 'too compromised to resist' politicians,” Wilson concluded.
Enclosures:
Total AIG campaign contributions, 2008, OpenSecrets.org
Total AIG campaign contributions, 1989-2008, OpenSecrets.org
ALG President Bill Wilson's Letter to Congress
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Americans for Limited Government is a non- partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms,private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG please call us at 703-383-0880 or visit our website at www.GetLiberty.org.
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