GOP lawmaker flips on AIG bonus tax
By PATRICK O'CONNOR |
3/26/09 3:43 PM EDT
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the top Republican on the budget committee, said Thursday he would have voted against the 90 percent tax increase if he had known that legal scholars would deem it unconstitutional.
"Now, that I know — which I didn't at the time — that this is unconstitutional, I wouldn't have voted the same way," Ryan said during a taping of C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" on Thursday — the show is set to air on Sunday. POLITICO was one of the participants in the Ryan interview.
Ryan blames confusion about the constitutionality of the plan on Democrats for rushing the bill through the House.
"You rush this thing to the floor. Nobody had time to review it," Ryan said on the C-SPAN program, adding that lawmakers "got conflicting advice on it" before the vote.
House Republicans split almost evenly last week over the Democrats' bill to impose a 90 percent retroactive tax increase on bonuses for employees at AIG and the other biggest recipients of federal bailout funds in a political bid to recoup the government's money. Conservatives rejected the bill as a punitive tax, but more than 80 Republicans voted for it, fearing the populist backlash over the AIG bonuses.
Ryan and party Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) voted for the legislation while Republican Leader John A. Boehner and the bulk of the party's conservative wing voted against it.
Ryan said he "wanted to send a message" to the companies that received bailout money.
But that vote last week stands in stark contrast to one late last fall when Ryan, Cantor, Boehner and others granted the administration approval to spend $700 billion to buy troubled mortgage-related securities. Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson quickly retooled the program to directly inject money into banks and other struggling financial institutions — an audible that caused heartburn for members on both sides of the aisle.
"I voted for TARP initially because I thought we were on the brink of a crisis," Ryan said.
AIG received around $170 billion through the Federal Reserve to remain solvent after bad assets capsized the financial titan. Earlier this year, the company used about $165 million of that money to pay bonuses to employees in the same departments that brought the firm to the brink of collapse.
Ryan argued that Democrats tried to pull a fast one on the GOP by ramming the legislation through the House under expedited procedures that required a two-thirds majority for passage, setting up the potential for Republicans to bring down the punitive measure. "This is no way to run Congress," he said.
But the conservative still agrees with the underlying principle behind the bill.
"The message was sent that should have been sent," Ryan said. "These bonuses were completely ridiculous. They rewarded failure."
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20528.html
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My Thoughts
First of all, how could he have not known it was unconstitutional from the beginning? The bonuses were ill-advised, but the government shouldn't be allowed to use the tax code to punish a specific individual or group.
I like Ryan, but he made huge mistake in voting yes. He was caught up in the heat of the moment. He allowed himself to be rushed by the Democrats into accepting this atrocity of a bill. Ryan has to be able to control the tempo of everything going on around him. Succumbing to pushed around will not be characteristic of a leader that the GOP needs. He must be able to stand up to the Democrats' propaganda and restrain them.
He could be an important leader for the GOP party in the future, but he has to be able to withstand pressure from outside sources and be able to thoroughly think out all votes.
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