Dodd: I'm to Blame for Bonus Loophole

In a reversal, Senator Chris Dodd said this evening he was responsible for the language added into the stimulus bill that allowed for the AIG bonuses. The Senate Banking Committee chairman and a Treasury Department official told CNN the Obama administration pushed for the language—which ensures that already existing contracts for bonuses at bailed out companies were honored—because they were afraid the government would be slapped with lawsuits without it. “The administration had expressed reservations,” said Dodd. “They asked for modifications. The alternative was losing the amendment entirely.” They “seemed like innocent modifications” at the time, he added. “I agreed reluctantly. I was changing the amendment because others were insistent.”