Cummings Tees Off On Executive Pay

Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) expressed outrage Monday at the allegation that Lehman Brothers was trying to give bonuses to executives, even as the struggling bank was preparing to ask the federal government for a bailout.

“The people on my block in Baltimore, if they perform poorly, they get fired,” Cummings said. “They certainly don’t get a bonus.”

Cummings spoke at a hearing on the bank’s collapse in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Former Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld is expected to testify later in the day, where he will likely get a hostile reception from Cummings and other Democrats.

“I wonder how he sleeps at night,” Cummings said of Fuld.