Rob Andrews: “I thank my friend for yielding. My friend from Minnesota, the chairman of our committee, says that Congress shouldn't be…”

“I thank my friend for yielding. My friend from Minnesota, the chairman of our committee, says that Congress shouldn't be picking winners and losers. I think the Congress has already picked a lot of winners in the last number of months. They've picked the people who are the subject of Mr. Boswell's amendment, those whose bonuses are 10,000 percent more than the average salaries of their workers. They've picked them for the largest tax cut in American history. They picked a winner by saying that if that person manipulates a hedge fund or financial institution, the regulators will look the other way as our 401(k)s become 201(k)s and our home values shrink. Most decidedly, this Congress has picked a set of winners, and those winners are those at the very top of American society who have gotten 93 percent of the pay raises. Ninety-three percent of the pay raises given out in this country have gone to that top group. So Mr. Boswell is trying to create a significant disincentive that says, you know what? If you pay yourself 10,000 percent more than your average worker, maybe there should be a separate set of circumstances you have to abide by and live by. It's a novel idea around this Congress, very novel idea that those at the very top of American society should have to live by a set of rules that protects the rest of American society. For that reason, I strongly support Mr. Boswell's amendment and would urge a ``yes'' vote.”