[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1575 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1575

    To authorize the Attorney General to limit or recover excessive 
  compensation paid or payable by entities that have received Federal 
          financial assistance on or after September 1, 2008.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 17, 2009

   Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Nadler of New York, Mr. 
  Delahunt, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Pierluisi, Ms. Fudge, and Mr. 
    Tonko) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To authorize the Attorney General to limit or recover excessive 
  compensation paid or payable by entities that have received Federal 
          financial assistance on or after September 1, 2008.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``End Government Reimbursement of 
Excessive Executive Disbursements (End GREED) Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY.

    Congress hereby elects to use its authority under article I, 
section 8, clause 4, and article I, section 8, clause 18, of the 
Constitution--
            (1) to establish a uniform law on bankruptcy that applies 
        to entities that have received extraordinary financial 
        assistance from the United States on or after September 1, 
        2008, and
            (2) to authorize the Attorney General of the United States 
        (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the Attorney General), 
        after consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury 
        (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the Secretary)--
                    (A) to seek recovery of previous excessive payments 
                of compensation made by such entities after receiving 
                such assistance, and
                    (B) to limit excessive payments of compensation to 
                be made by such entities.

SEC. 3. RECOVERY OF EXCESSIVE COMPENSATION.

    (a) Review of Contracts and Payments.--The Attorney General, after 
consultation with the Secretary, on behalf of the Government may review 
any employment contract made by a recipient entity, and any payment 
made on or after September 1, 2008, by a recipient entity to an 
employee.
    (b) Civil Action for Fraudulent Transfer.--The Attorney General may 
commence a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United 
States to avoid any payment made by a recipient entity to an employee 
(including a payment under an employment contract) that was made on or 
after September 1, 2008, if such entity received less than a reasonably 
equivalent value in exchange for such payment and such entity--
            (1) was insolvent on the date that such payment was made, 
        not taking into account any--
                    (A) line of credit,
                    (B) loan, or
                    (C) payment in exchange for stock of such entity,
        received by such entity from the United States on or after 
        September 1, 2008, or
            (2) was engaged in business or a transaction, or was about 
        to engage in business or a transaction, for which property 
        remaining in the recipient entity was an unreasonably small 
        capital.
For purposes of this subsection, the Attorney General may avoid any 
transfer of an interest of a recipient entity in property, or any 
obligation incurred by such entity, that is avoidable under applicable 
law by a creditor holding an unsecured claim against such entity.
    (c) Civil Action To Avoid Contractual Obligations To Pay Excessive 
Compensation.--The Attorney General may commence a civil action in an 
appropriate district court of the United States to limit the amount of 
the compensation paid or payable on or after the date of the enactment 
of this Act by a recipient entity under an employment contract if such 
compensation is greater than an amount equal to 10 times the amount of 
the mean amount of compensation paid or payable to nonmanagement 
employees of such entity for any purpose during the calendar year in 
which compensation was paid or payable by such entity.

SEC. 4. SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.

    The Attorney General is authorized to issue a subpoena requiring 
the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of 
documentary evidence relating to any matter relevant to the 
implementation of this Act, including the circumstances surrounding any 
employment contract or payment of compensation, which subpoena, in the 
case of contumacy or refusal to obey, shall be enforceable by order of 
an appropriate district court of the United States.

SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Other than limiting compensation paid or payable under employment 
contracts or providing for the recovery of previously paid 
compensation, nothing in this Act shall be construed to have any impact 
on a recipient entity, its financial status, or the financial status of 
its creditors.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``employment contract'' means an employment 
        contract that provides for the payment of compensation 
        (including performance or incentive compensation, a bonus of 
        any kind, or any other financial return designed to replace or 
        enhance incentive, stock, or other compensation), and
            (2) the term ``recipient entity'' means a person (including 
        any subsidiary of such person) that receives, during any period 
        beginning on or after September 1, 2008, from the United 
        States--
                    (A) a line of credit or a loan,
                    (B) a payment in exchange for stock of such person 
                (or such subsidiary), or
                    (C) any combination of credit, loans, or payments,
        that exceeds $10,000,000,000 in the aggregate.
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