Bailout may include salary restrictions

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Congressional Democrats demanded the U.S. federal bailout of financial firms come with restrictions on executive salaries and bonuses, sources said.

The bailout, in its initial design, allows the U.S. Treasury to spend $700 billion on troubled assets from domestic and foreign financial institutions in the next two years without oversight from either the courts or any other federal agency, The Washington Post reported Monday.

But, Democrats have demanded any firm participating in the bailout live with salary guidelines for top executives that include eliminating incentives for "inappropriate or excessive" risks, restrictions on severance packages and returning bonuses based on earning benchmarks that are not met, the Post reported.

"We will not simply hand over a $700 billion blank check to Wall Street," said U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a statement.

Democrats have also demanded the bailout include mandates to reduce foreclosures by forcing banks to forgive a portion of the debt for some mortgages.

Republicans have proposed their own list of demands, asking that a congressional committee be formed to oversee the program, the Post said.