How quickly the lawmakers forget.

And the House and Senate didn't think that this will come back to bite them. So, the finger shouldn't be pointed at the Obama Administration when Obama clearly placed in the stimulus bill to ban executive compensation..

TPM:

Washington can have a woefully short memory. But Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) remember what TPMDC reported on just last month: their proposal to force bailed-out companies to rescind executive bonuses could have made it into the stimulus bill, but was stripped out by Democratic leaders at the last minute.

Wyden and Snowe are now asking Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to support their bailout bonuses measure, which could have prevented much of the current AIG flap and was scored as a money-maker for the U.S. government.

The proposal would retroactively recover all cash bonuses to bailout recipients that exceeded $25,000, and companies that didn't return the money would be subjected to a 35% excise tax. (AIG, under this arrangement, would have had to pay about $58 million in taxes if it wanted to cling to its executive bonuses.)

Wyden and Snowe plan to quickly introduce their plan as free-standing legislation. In their letter, they remind Geithner:

The [stimulus bill] contained provisions that required you to review bonuses and "seek to negotiate" with TARP recipients regarding appropriate levels of compensation. This does not appear to have produced any results.

Here was Senator Dodd 's provisions in Feburary:

The amendment puts an end to compensation policies unfair to American taxpayers by banning:

* Compensation incentives for senior executive officers "to take unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten the value" of the company.

* "Golden parachutes" for senior executive officers or the next 5 most highly-compensated employees.

• Compensation plans that would encourage manipulation of the company's reported earnings to enhance an employee's compensation.

The amendment also cracks down on:

• Bonuses, retention awards and incentive compensation. For institutions that received assistance totaling less than $25M, the bonus restriction applies to the highest compensated employee (top 1); $25M-$250M, applies to the top 5 employees; $250M-$500M, applies to the senior executive officers and the next top 10 employees; and more than $500M applies to the senior executive officers and the next top 20 employees (or such higher number as the Secretary determines is in the public interest).

* Compensation paid out wrongfully in the past. The Secretary of the Treasury must review past compensation paid to the top 25 employees of TARP recipients and to seek to negotiate for reimbursements if those payments were contrary to the public interest or inconsistent with the purposes of the Act or the TARP.

The amendment includes tough new rules for TARP recipients, who must:

* Clawback any bonus, retention award or incentive compensation paid to senior executive officers or the next 20 most highly-compensated employees based on statements of earnings, revenues or other criteria later found to be materially inaccurate.

• Certify that they are complying with these executive compensation rules.

• Establish a Compensation Committee of the Board established that has all independent directors; the Compensation Committee must meet at least semiannually to evaluate employee compensation plans in light of risk posed to the company.

• Institute a company-wide policy regarding excessive or luxury expenditures, including entertainment or events, office and facility renovations, private jets, etc.
• Institute "Say on Pay" or an annual shareholder vote on approval of executive compensation.