Washington D.C. (October 7, 2008) – In a hearing on the causes and effects of the AIG bailout by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Representative Kucinich (D-OH) today continued to question the role that former Goldman Sachs CEO and current Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson had in deciding to bail out AIG and not Lehman Brothers. Representative Kucinich also questioned whether Secretary Paulson had any role in defeating a private sector bailout of AIG in favor of the government bailout. The government-financed bailout protected the 20% stake that Goldman Sachs had in AIG, which was valued at as much as $20 billion.

In written testimony submitted to the Committee, former AIG CEO Maurice Greenberg asserted that a private sector solution, or even bankruptcy filing, would have protected shareholders. The government bailout package eventually agreed to protected, first and foremost, AIG’s creditors.

After the hearing, Representative Kucinich made the following statement:

“We should not trust Treasury Secretary Paulson to disburse $700 billion in funds while Congress is out of town. The Speaker of the House should call Congress back into session with the same urgency that propelled the misguided $700 billion bailout. We urgently need to come up with a plan to prime the pump of the American economy by creating jobs and saving homes. If we want to get money circulating through the economy where it helps everyone we should start with the broad base of the American people.”

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