According to the Connecticut Democrat, officials at the Treasury Department expressed concern that if the government were to prohibit payouts it could or would be sued by companies like AIG, which had contracts stipulating that bonuses were to be paid.

At the urging of and with consultation with Department officials, Dodd modified a clause he had previously inserted into the stimulus that prohibited bonuses from being issued by bailed-out companies. An exemption was added to allow bonuses that applied to in-place contracts.