"Available for interview requests:

SARAH ANDERSON, who has spent the last 16 years analyzing CEO pay at the Institute for Policy Studies, said today: 'Mr. Feinberg had a narrow mandate, but he still could have played hardball. He could have told these firms they wouldn't get another taxpayer dime unless they renegotiated their executive pay pacts.'

CHUCK COLLINS, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, co-founder of Wealth for the Common Good and co-author of America's Bailout Barons, said: 'Feinberg has been spending his time trying to reach a 'consensus' on CEO pay with the firms that crashed our economy. He ought to be speaking to the average Americans our economy has crashed down upon.'

SAM PIZZIGATI, associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, author of the online newsletter Too Much and co-author of America's Bailout Barons, said: 'Feinberg's preferred 'solution' to our executive pay problems, substituting stock for cash in executive pay packages, would have done little to prevent the subprime carnage if put in place 10 years ago.'

MIKE LAPHAM, project director of Responsible Wealth at United for a Fair Economy, said: 'The financial collapse and the government's response make it clear that the financial service sector is not just playing risky casino games with their own money - they're playing with everyone's money. When they bet the house and lose, we all lose. Extreme pay and short-term reward structures lead to risky behaviors. We need much stronger regulation and oversight of executive compensation.'"

View the full press release on CommonDreams.org