Oregon Public Broadcasting

Senator Ron Wyden has an idea for making Wall Street executives more accountable under the next wave of financial rescue legislation. April Baer reports.

The Obama administration has already put a ceiling on how much money top Wall Street managers can receive from the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP.

On top of that, the Senate has already voted to put an end to bonuses for these same  executives -- the bonus funds have to be paid back anyway. But Senator Wyden, who's a Democrat, teamed up with Republican Senator Olympia Snowe to speed things along.

Their amendment would require  bank leaders to pay their 2008 bonuses back immediately, or else pay a hefty 35% tax on all bonuses exceeding $100,000.

Senator Wyden's office says the provision would bring more than $3 billion in revenue. That estimate came from the Joint Congressional Committee on Taxation.

The amendment apparently has some opposition in committee, and there's a competing bill.

It would put a $400,000 limit on compensation execs could receive, including both salary and bonuses.