Senate to recess without AIG action

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WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) -- A U.S. Senate bill to tax bonuses at bailed-out insurance giant AIG will have to wait until after the two-week congressional recess, a committee chairman says.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who heads the Senate Finance Committee, indicates three weeks after the storm broke over the $165 million American Insurance Group bonuses that the Senate hasn't finalized legislation, Politico reported Friday.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he was unhappy that Congress is taking its break before dealing with the problem of excessive payouts by bailout recipients.

"Some members are starting to ask how you're going to explain if you're on recess and another round of these excessive bonuses comes out (or) it happens in another three weeks," Wyden told Politico. "Each time it happens, it's going to be harder and harder.

After word of the AIG payments broke, the House of Representatives proposed taxing the bonuses at 90 percent. The House Wednesday passed a measure retroactively cracking down on almost all bailout company bonuses.