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[House Report 111-84]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     111-84
======================================================================
 
  DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY TO TRANSMIT TO THE HOUSE OF 
REPRESENTATIVES ALL INFORMATION IN HIS POSSESSION RELATING TO SPECIFIC 
      COMMUNICATIONS WITH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP, INC. (AIG)

                                _______
                                

   April 23, 2009.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, from the Committee on Financial Services, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                       [To accompany H. Res. 251]

    The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred 
the resolution (H. Res. 251) directing the Secretary of the 
Treasury to transmit to the House of Representatives all 
information in his possession relating to specific 
communications with American International Group, Inc. (AIG), 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommend that the resolution be agreed to.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     4
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     4
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     4
Earmark Identification...........................................     4
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     4
Additional Views.................................................     5

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H. Res. 251, directs the Secretary of the Treasury to 
transmit to the House, within fourteen days of adoption, all 
information in his possession referring or relating to: (i) any 
negotiation concerning the controlled break-up of the American 
International Group, Inc. (AIG); (ii) any negotiation 
concerning any additional assistance under title I of the 
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5201 et 
seq.) or other program administered by the Secretary to AIG; or 
(iii) any Government communication or authorization for payment 
of any pre-existing bonus contract with any executive of AIG.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H. Res. 251 is a resolution of inquiry which, pursuant to 
clause 7 of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, directs the Committee to act on the resolution 
within 14 legislative days or a privileged motion to discharge 
the Committee is in order.
    Under the Rules and precedents of the House, a resolution 
of inquiry is one of the methods used by the House to obtain 
information from the executive branch. According to volume 7, 
chapter 24, section 8 of Deschler's Procedure, it is a ``simple 
resolution making a direct request or demand of the President 
or the head of an executive department to furnish the House of 
Representatives with specific factual information in the 
possession of the executive branch.''

                                HEARINGS

    The Committee has held no hearings on H. Res. 251 itself. 
However, the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and 
Government Sponsored Enterprises held a hearing on March 18, 
2009, entitled ``American International Group's Impact on the 
Global Economy: Before, During and After Federal 
Intervention.'' The following witnesses testified: Mr. Scott 
Polakoff, Acting Director, Office of Thrift Supervision; the 
Honorable Joel Ario, Insurance Commissioner, Pennsylvania 
Insurance Department, on behalf of the National Association of 
Insurance Commissioners; Ms. Orice M. Williams, Director, 
Financial Markets and Community Investment, Government 
Accountability Office; Mr. Rodney Clark, Managing Director, 
Insurance Ratings, Standard & Poor's; and Mr. Edward M. Liddy, 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, American International 
Group.
    Also, the Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on 
March 24, 2009, entitled ``Oversight of the Federal 
Government's Intervention at American International Group.'' 
The following witnesses testified: The Honorable Timothy F. 
Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury; The Honorable Ben S. 
Bernanke, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System; and Mr. William C. Dudley, President and Chief 
Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The Committee on Financial Services met in open session on 
March 25, 2009, and on March 26, 2009, ordered H. Res. 251 
reported to the House with a favorable recommendation.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes 
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. A 
motion by Mr. Frank to report the resolution to the House with 
a favorable recommendation was agreed to by a record vote of 64 
yeas and 0 nays (Record vote No. FC-10). The names of Members 
voting for and against follow:

                                              RECORD VOTE NO. FC-10
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Representative              Aye      Nay     Present     Representative       Aye      Nay     Present
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Frank........................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Bachus.........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Kanjorski....................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Castle.........  ........  .......  ........
Ms. Waters.......................  ........  .......  ........  Mr. King (NY)......        X   .......  ........
Mrs. Maloney.....................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Royce..........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Gutierrez....................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Lucas..........        X   .......  ........
Ms. Velazquez....................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Paul...........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Watt.........................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Manzullo.......        X   .......  ........
Mr. Ackerman.....................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Jones..........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Sherman......................        X   .......  ........  Mrs. Biggert.......        X   .......  ........
Mr. Meeks........................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Miller (CA)....  ........  .......  ........
Mr. Moore (KS)...................        X   .......  ........  Mrs. Capito........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Capuano......................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Hensarling.....        X   .......  ........
Mr. Hinojosa.....................  ........  .......  ........  Mr. Garrett (NJ)...        X   .......  ........
Mr. Clay.........................  ........  .......  ........  Mr. Barrett (SC)...        X   .......  ........
Mrs. McCarthy....................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Gerlach........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Baca.........................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Neugebauer.....        X   .......  ........
Mr. Lynch........................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Price (GA).....        X   .......  ........
Mr. Miller (NC)..................        X   .......  ........  Mr. McHenry........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Scott........................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Campbell.......        X   .......  ........
Mr. Green........................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Putnam.........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Cleaver......................        X   .......  ........  Mrs. Bachmann......        X   .......  ........
Ms. Bean.........................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Marchant.......        X   .......  ........
Ms. Moore (WI)...................        X   .......  ........  Mr. McCotter.......        X   .......  ........
Mr. Hodes........................        X   .......  ........  Mr. McCarthy.......        X   .......  ........
Mr. Ellison......................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Posey..........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Klein........................        X   .......  ........  Ms. Jenkins........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Wilson.......................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Lee............        X   .......  ........
Mr. Perlmutter...................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Paulsen........  ........  .......  ........
Mr. Donnelly.....................        X   .......  ........  Mr. Lance..........        X   .......  ........
Mr. Foster.......................        X   .......  ........
Mr. Carson.......................        X   .......  ........
Mr. Speier.......................        X   .......  ........
Mr. Childers.....................        X   .......  ........
Mr. Minnick......................        X   .......  ........
Mr. Adler........................        X   .......  ........
Ms. Kilroy.......................        X   .......  ........
Mr. Driehaus.....................        X   .......  ........
Ms. Kosmas.......................  ........  .......  ........
Mr. Grayson......................        X   .......  ........
Mr. Himes........................        X   .......  ........
Mr. Peters.......................        X   .......  ........
Mr. Maffei.......................        X   .......  ........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    No amendments were considered during the consideration of 
the resolution.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee made findings and 
recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities 
under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, are incorporated into the descriptive portions 
of this report.

                    PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Consistent with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee establishes the 
following performance related goals and objectives for this 
legislation:
    H. Res. 251 is intended to direct the Secretary of the 
Treasury to produce materials related to federal intervention 
at AIG in order to assist the Committee in its oversight 
capacity.

   NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that this 
legislation would result in no new budget authority, 
entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or revenues.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    H. Res. 251 contains no unfunded mandates.

                      ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

                         EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

    H. Res. 251 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 of rule XXI.

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

    H. Res. 251 directs the Secretary of the Treasury to 
transmit to the House, within fourteen days of adoption, all 
information in his possession referring or relating to: (i) any 
negotiation concerning the controlled break-up of the American 
International Group, Inc. (AIG); (ii) any negotiation 
concerning any additional assistance under title I of the 
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 5201 et 
seq.) or other program administered by the Secretary to AIG; or 
(iii) any Government communication or authorization for payment 
of any pre-existing bonus contract with any executive of the 
AIG.

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

    Committee Republicans are unanimous in their support of H. 
Res. 251, a Resolution of Inquiry introduced by Representatives 
LaTourette (OH) and McCotter (MI), which directs the Treasury 
Secretary to provide the House of Representatives all 
information relating to the government's interaction with 
American International Group (AIG), and its bonuses, within 14 
days.
    Like hard-working American families, Committee Republicans 
are extremely disappointed by the recent bonuses going to 
institutions that have received massive government bailouts, 
and have been advocating against releasing further taxpayer 
dollars without commonsense taxpayer protections and 
safeguards.
    While Committee Republicans were pleased that the Majority 
joined with us in unanimously supporting this important 
resolution, we are concerned that the Majority's report focuses 
too narrowly on the legislative text, rather than fully 
evaluating the sequence of events that led to the AIG bonuses. 
The Majority fails to ask the important questions that every 
American taxpayer deserves to have answered.
    Most Committee Republicans agreed with President Obama's 
action, instructing Treasury to block the AIG bonuses from 
going to some of the same people who helped create this 
financial crisis, even though days earlier, his top economic 
advisor, Larry Summers, announced that there was nothing the 
Administration could do.
    We have learned that the Administration worked to add a 
provision to the so-called stimulus legislation that ensured 
these bonuses would be paid. Specifically, a bipartisan 
amendment written by Senators Olympia Snowe (ME) and Ron Wyden 
(OR) that would have forced AIG to pay nearly $58 million in 
taxes on top executive bonuses was stripped from the 
legislation before the stimulus conference report was brought 
to the Senate floor. In its place, an amendment by Senator Dodd 
(CT) was inserted, which exempted ``contractually obligated 
bonuses agreed to on or before February 11, 2009'' from the 
executive compensation restrictions contained in the bill. This 
amendment specifically allowed the bonuses for AIG executives.
    We recommend that important questions, inherent to this 
resolution, are answered, including: How did this happen? Who 
called for and wrote the provision into the stimulus, and why? 
Who in the Administration authorized Treasury officials to 
approach Senator Dodd about including the AIG bonus-enabling 
provision? And who were the individuals who made these far-
reaching decisions? These are all questions that American 
taxpayers deserve to have answered.
    We also believe that it is imperative that the Treasury 
clarify what top officials knew about the AIG bonuses and when 
they knew it. Recently, Secretary Geithner reiterated that he 
first learned of these bonuses on March 10, 2009. However, 
there is video confirming that these bonuses were raised to him 
before the Ways and Means Committee on March 3, 2009. While the 
Federal Reserve acknowledged they were told last fall and that 
the bonuses were listed in AIG's 3rd quarter SEC filing last 
year, the public has yet to receive a straight answer from 
Treasury as to when they first learned of these bonuses.
    We thank every member of the Committee for supporting this 
resolution of inquiry. This commonsense resolution directs 
Treasury to provide Congress all information related to the 
AIG's break up, the need for the fourth bailout of the company, 
and all communications related to the payment of the bonuses 
within 14 days. American taxpayers have been forced to commit 
$170 billion in their hard-earned monies to support AIG. 
Anything less than securing answers and explanations to all of 
these questions would be unacceptable.

                                   Spencer Bachus.
                                   Scott Garrett.
                                   Kenny Marchant.
                                   Randy Neugebauer.
                                   Michael N. Castle.
                                   Bill Posey.
                                   Judy Biggert.
                                   Ed Royce.
                                   Donald Manzullo.
                                   Michele Bachmann.
                                   Thaddeus McCotter.
                                   Ron Paul.

                                  
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