House Proceeding 04-01-09 on Apr 1st, 2009 :: 0:11:45 to 0:20:00
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0:11:51 to 0:12:05( Edit History Discussion )

representatives.] the speaker: the yeas are the nays are zero. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to. and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the

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table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts ris mr. frank: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days on h.r. 166 to revise and extend their remarks, and insert into the record extraneous material thereon. objection, so ordered. pursuant to house resolution 306

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House Clerk: and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 1664 . the chair appoints the gentleman preside over the committee of

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Speech By: House Clerk

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House Clerk: the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 1664, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: union calendar number 28, h.r. 1664, a bill to amend the executive compensation provisions of the emergency economic stabilization act of

0:13:41 to 0:14:01( Edit History Discussion )

Barney Frank: 2008 to prohibit unreasonable and excessive c compensation not based on performance standards. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as read the first time of the the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. frank, and the gentleman from georgia, mr. price, each will control 30 min. the chair recognizes gentleman from massachusetts, mr. frank.

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Speech By: Barney Frank

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Barney Frank: mr. frank: mr. chairman, i want to begin by members who are the main authors of this bill and i will begin

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Alan Grayson: with two gentleman from florida, mr. grayson. the chair: the gen florida is recognized for two minutes. mr. grayson: thank you, mr. chairman. the chair: the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. the committee will be in order. the gentleman is recognized for two minutes.

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Speech By: Alan Grayson

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Alan Grayson: mr. grayson: we offer h.r. 1664, the pay for performance act, based on two simple concepts. one, no one has the right to get ch off taxpayer money. and two, no one should get rich off abject failure. the u.s. government spent $170 billion to stabilize a.i.g., and it now owns 80% of that company, yet recently a.i.g. paid more

0:14:56 to 0:15:17( Edit History Discussion )

Alan Grayson: than $165 million in bonuses to 73 employees with this taxpayer money. we should not be payingarsonnists to put out his own fire, and we should not be paying an executive to ruin his own bank. mr. speaker, an economy in which a bank executive can line his own pockets by destroying his company with risky bets is an economy that will spiral downward to failure.

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Alan Grayson: and a government that hands out money to such executives is a government that fails to protect its own taxpayers. h.r. 1664 is designed to allow responsible compensation to those who work for companies running on taxpayer money. the bill freezes current bonus payments for executives and employees of companies that have accepted capital investments from the tarp program until that

0:15:40 to 0:16:01( Edit History Discussion )

Alan Grayson: investment capital is paid back to the government. it will ask for new compensation in bonus arrangements to be made as long as they are based on performance standards and not excessive or unreasonable. these standards must be crafted by the treasury secretary within 30 days and approved by the federal financial institutions examination council. our job is to act on behalf of

0:16:02 to 0:16:22( Edit History Discussion )

Alan Grayson: taxpayers to fix our economy and we do so today with this bill. the restrictions in this bill apply only to financial institution that is have taken capital investments from the taxpayer, and they are commonsense restrictions, pay cannot be excessive or unreasonable, and bonuses must be based on performance standards. if the banks want to avoid for some reason these commonsense

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Alan Grayson: restrictions, there's a very simple way for them to do so. ju pay the bailout money back to the government and that's what the banks say they want to do. i know that taxpayers in my district will happyly take it back. -- happily take it back. mr. frank: i yield an additional 30 seconds. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. grayson:thank you, mr. chairman.

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Alan Grayson: thank you, mr. speaker. i asked the c.e.o. of a.i.g. when he came to testify before the financial services comttee is it more important to protect banking executives who lost billions of dollars and still get millions of dollars worth of pay or protect us? the answer to that question is

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John Abney Culberson: now before this body, and now which side i'm on. thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back to chairman frank. the chair: the gentleman from florida yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia, mr. price, is recognized. mr. price: thank you, mr. chairman. i'm pleased to yield one minute to my friend from texas, mr. culberson. the chair: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. culberson: mr. speaker, the

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Speech By: John Abney Culberson

Culberson complains about not having had time to read the bill.

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an exchange between Reps. Culberson and Frank.

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John Abney Culberson: bill before the house is simply political cover for liberals who rushed their $800 billion stimulus bill through the house ensuring these a.i.g. bonuses would be paid. you know, mr. speaker f. the members had had more than 12 hours to read this $800 billion stimulus bill, we

0:17:45 to 0:18:05( Edit History Discussion )

John Abney Culberson: might have been able to spot problems like this before members were forced to vote. in fact, mr. speaker, one of the members who voted for this stimulus bill is the sponsor of the legislation before us. mr. grayson, i would like to ask the gentleman from florida if he would yield for a question. mr. grayson, if he would yield -- i yield my time. mr. grayson. i'd like to yield to you,

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John Abney Culberson: please, sir. for a question, please, sir. mr. grayson, thank you very much. because i would like to ask the gentleman from florida, i thank you, mr. grayson -- if i could -- before i yield very quickly, if i could, sir, would you please answer yes or no if you read the 1,100-page stimulus

0:18:27 to 0:18:48( Edit History Discussion )

John Abney Culberson: bill before -- the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. price: additional minute. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for an additional minute. mr. culberson: did you read the there's your answer, mr. speaker. it's i think terrible injustice to the taxpars of am leadership of this house is jamming through $800 billion

0:18:49 to 0:19:10( Edit History Discussion )

John Abney Culberson: spendi bills without committee hearings, with very little committee hearing, less than 12 hours notice. without the opportunity for members to read a majority that promised to be the most transparent, accountable, and honest majority in congress in history. and the president promised would he not sign a bill that was not laid out for at least five legislative days. the member of florida walks away

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John Abney Culberson: from the microphone, the author of the amendment before us, can't even tell us if he read the bill. american taxpayers deserve better at a time of economic crisis. when we are guardians of the treasury, our responsibility as trustees to protect our children and grandchildren from financial ruin. in 60 days, mr. speaker, this

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John Abney Culberson: liberal

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Barney Frank: $1.3 trillion, money our kid cannot afford. the chair: the gentleman's time let me remind members they should address the chair even in a colloquy. . the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. frank: i yield myself as i

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Speech By: Barney Frank

Barney Frank responds to Culberson

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Barney Frank: may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. extraordinary. what you have just heard is a denunsiation of something that was done by a -- the congress a few weeks ago and a refusal to undo it. chairman, so attached to something they hate.