http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/20844.html
The pattern never changes!
Congress is still riding the AIG outrage express, but the drive to actually crack down on the beleaguered company is sputtering.
That first week, a House lawmaker redefined American International Group’s acronym as “Arrogance, Incompetence and Greed.” Over in the Senate, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) suggested company executives commit suicide to demonstrate their shame. And the subpoena threats flew across the Capitol.
But those are just words. Three weeks after the AIG storm broke, efforts to regulate bonus payments, compensation packages and just about anything else at the mega-insurer are foundering.
Asked Thursday about progress on his AIG bonus bill, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) merely shook his head and said, “We’ll wait until after the recess.”
The Obama administration played a significant role in calming the AIG storm when the president signaled his opposition to a House bill that would tax AIG bonuses at 90 percent, telling “60 Minutes” that he would not “govern out of anger.” The latest House bill to retroactively crack down on almost all bailout company bonuses, passed Wednesday evening, has been met with silence on the Senate side.
The AIG scandal, however, reflects a common pattern on Capitol Hill.
Here’s how these brushfires usually unfold: A scandal breaks in the media, the public is outraged, congressional recriminations follow, wealthy men in suits testify under oath about their sins, pledges to reform are made, bills are introduced.
And then ... everyone moves on to the next outrage.
