Greg Walden demands inquiry into AIG’s lavish executive spa retreat — one week after taking $85 billion public bailout
Walden: California beach vacation an ‘egregious breach of public trust’
October 15, 2008 - THE DALLES, Ore. - U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) today demanded an investigation into whether taxpayer funds were used to bankroll a lavish $440,000 retreat for company executives less than a week after the Treasury Department used $85 billion in taxpayer money to bail out the struggling insurance company.
An ABC news report on the retreat can be found here. The retreat for company executives at the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, California, cost a total of $440,000 — $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 for meals and $23,000 in spa charges.
“This insane conduct is inexcusable and represents an egregious breach of public trust,” said Walden, who made the announcement today while visiting with The Dalles Rotary. “These are exactly the kinds of abuses that drive me up a wall and are infuriating to taxpayers across the country. The Treasury Department needs to get to the bottom of this quickly to find out if taxpayers were taken for a ride. After accepting $85 billion in taxpayer money to keep their company afloat, the AIG executive brain trust was so fatigued they took a luxurious spa vacation on the company dime. With judgment like that, no wonder they needed taxpayers to bail them out. If public funds were used to bankroll this preposterous getaway, taxpayers must be repaid every cent.”
Walden and a group of 49 bipartisan members have signed onto a letter to the Treasury Department, to be sent Friday, that asks the Treasury Department look into whether taxpayer funds from the bailout were used, and if so that AIG repay the Treasury in full.
Walden’s stop in The Dalles is part of a district work schedule that includes over 60 meetings and public events over 3,600 miles of travel around the Second Congressional District.
The full text of the letter is below:
The Honorable Henry J. Paulson, Jr.
Secretary of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20220
The Honorable Ben S. Bernanke
Chairman, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Twentieth Street & Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20551
Dear Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke:
We write to express strong concerns about AIG’s possible misuse of federal taxpayer funds.
It has come to our attention that, after the Federal Government provided a loan of $85 billion to AIG, the AIG executives hosted a lavish $440,000 retreat at the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, California. Even more troubling, the day after this was revealed to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the New York branch of the Federal Reserve announced it will borrow $37.8 billion in investment-grade securities from AIG in exchange for cash.
At a time when many of our constituents have serious concerns about their own financial security, we demand that you ensure that no taxpayer funds were used by AIG to host this retreat. If taxpayer funds were used, we demand that AIG repay the American people in full. It is crucial that the American people be able to trust the actions of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury.
Sincerely,
/s
Congressman Greg Walden represents Oregon’s Second Congressional District, which is comprised of 20 counties in eastern, southern, and central Oregon. He is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and a member of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
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