WARWICK, RI - Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) today expressed outrage over news of more massive bonuses to Wall Street executives, including $198 million to be distributed by AIG next March and indications that Goldman Sachs is on track to provide a record payout to its executives by the end of 2009.

“After all this country has been through, and especially when 12.8 percent of Rhode Islanders are unemployed, seeing that Wall Street has not learned its lesson is a tremendous disappointment,” said Langevin. “They have not only received billions in direct federal bailouts to avert crises largely of their own making, but they also benefited from an array of federal fiscal policies that have placed increased burdens on taxpayers and our deficit. These companies must be held accountable for their decisions, and for the federal assistance they only too gladly accepted.”

Langevin has supported legislation to block such bonuses in the past and plans to continue to press his colleagues and the Administration to ensure that as Wall Street again enjoys profitability, American taxpayers also see some reward.
He also commended Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) and the Financial Services Committee for their hard work on the financial regulatory overhaul that is so critically needed in our country to prevent another crisis. 

“It is clear that our financial system demands common sense regulation, increased transparency and improved oversight,” continued Langevin. “Wall Street CEOs cannot run their businesses assuming that the fruits of success will be entirely theirs to enjoy, while the costs of failure will be the shared responsibility of all Americans.”

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