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Bernard Sanders: so, i again invite my colleagues to be in touch on this they're interested in pursuing it. i think it's necessary. i appreciate very much the indulgence of the chair. i appreciate very much the indulgence of the distinguished senator from vermont. and i yield the floor to distinguished senator from vermont.

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and i yield the floor to distinguished senator from vermont. mr. sanders: mr. president? chair recognizes the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: it is hard to know how to begin because there is such a huge sense of outrage today in our country at what wall street has done through

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their greed, through their recklessness and through their illegal behavior. the so-called masters of the universe, the best and the brightest, into a deep recession and taken us to the edge of a major depression. and in my state of vermont and

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all over this country, what we are seeing is good, decent people losing their jobs, they're losing their homes, they're losing their savings, they're losing their hopes for future because of the greed and recklessness of a small number

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of people on wall street. everybody understands that one of the major institutions that have taken us into the financial mess that we're i today is a.i. over the past several years a.i.g. has moved away from being the largest insurance company i the world to becoming the

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largest unregulated gambling hall in the world. that's what they have done. as a that a.i.g. had made and lost on, the taxpayers of this

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country have spent $170 billion in bailing them out. that amounts to some $600 every man, woman, and child in this country. during much of this greenberg, the former c.e.o. of a.i.g., was able to amass a

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personal fortune of close to $2 billion. and in 2007 was one of the wealthiest people in the world, even after the collapse of a.i.g. mr. greenberg is still worth close to $100 million, according to "forbes" magazine.

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mr. president, having helped cause this a result of their reckless and irresponsible behavior, it is beyond comprehension -- beyond comprehension -- that these people, the best and the

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brightest, would actually believe that they are entitled to millions of dollars in bonuses. just think for a moment. these caused one of the great financial disasters in the last 70 years, and they're sitting back and saying for all of my fine and excellent work, i'm

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going to be rewarded with a $3 million bonus or whatever it may be. mr. president, it goes without saying that we have got to hear the outrage of the american people and say enough is enough. i have signed on to two letters which essentially tell these

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people who have received their bonuses to give them back. to give them back. and if they don't give them back, we're going to pass a surtax on those bonus sos that the taxpayers of -- on those bonuses so that the taxpayers of this country will in fact receive back what we gave them. in my view, what we have got to

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move to is legislation to what i proposed along with senators lincoln and senator boxer, which was called stop the greed legislation on wall street. you know, mr. president, the present of the united states is paid $400,000 a and i think the president will survive on that sum of money.

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it seems to me that when taxpayers are spending of billions of dollars bailing out large wall street firms, we should make it very clear that none of their executives should be entitled to earn more than the president of the united states. they can in fact get by i know it will be hard, but i

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Bernard Sanders: suspect they could survive -- on $400,000 a year when the taxpayers of this count bailing them out. more i for another lengthier discussion, mr. president, we immediate to move to a new concept of what wall street should be doing. bankers historically in our country and in the world play a

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Bernard Sanders: made out, but a gambling hall where these guys have made huge sums of money in very risky investments which have failed, and the taxpayers are now bailing them out. i think we need to rethink the function of wall i personally believe that all of these c.e.o.'s who are

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Bernard Sanders: help people get they need, help people get the loans responsibly that they i know that that is a radical idea, but i would hope that we can move toward a wall street which has those values. i think sick and tired. they have had it up to here with the wall street that has seen

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Bernard Sanders: senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, i want to thank my colleagues from vermont and from rhode island for the comments that they made. i certainly had to say. when my kids were growing up, my daughter's favorite movie was "the wizard of oz." it had that course, when this massive wizard

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who held everyone enthralled. they finally pulled back, the little dog did, and there was this nomeish character behind a microphone. everybody stood back and said all these years we've been afraid of the wizard of oz, it turns out a little fellow back there with a big microphone. i want to thank the bonus babies at a.i.g. because they managed