"That kind of price talk is ridiculous," he said, without specifying what he considers a fair price. "I've told the government that if we have to sell them right now, we may not be able to pay back what we owe."

American International Group is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives after an earlier round of payments four months ago set off a national furor. The troubled insurance giant has been pressing the federal government to bless the payments in hopes of shielding itself from renewed public outrage. The request puts the administration's new compensation czar on the spot by seeking his opinion about bonuses that were promised long before he took his post. AIG doesn't actually need the permission of Kenneth R. Feinberg, who President Obama appointed last month to oversee the compensation of top executives at seven firms that have received large federal bailouts. But officials at AIG, whose federal rescue package stands at $180 billion, have been reluctant to move forward without political cover from the government. "Anytime we write a check to anybody" it is highly scrutinized, said an AIG official, who declined to speak on the record because the negotiations with Feinberg are ongoing. "We would want to feel comfortable that the government is comfortable with what we are doing." The payments coming due next week include $2.4 million in bonuses for about 40 high-ranking executives at AIG, according to administration documents from earlier this year. Though the actual sum may have changed since then, the payments are much smaller than those that caused the upheaval in March.

I am proud that we are now implementing this repayment plan. As we all know too well, our pace of success will depend on global economic conditions and financial markets. It is likely to take several years. All of you should have a leadership team committed to a similar time horizon and prepared to carry the plan to completion.

“We must take the time and exercise the diligence to do this restructuring properly,” Mr. Liddy told lawmakers. “Let me be clear — our plan is explicitly designed to avoid having to divest A.I.G. assets at fire-sale prices.” ... In a recent memo to A.I.G. employees, Mr. Liddy said the company had developed a restructuring plan called “Project Destiny” that entails either spinning off many of the insurance subsidiaries, either by selling them to other companies or by turning them into independent companies and selling minority stakes through in public stock offerings.

The payments are in addition to an about $120 million corporate bonus pool designated for holding company employees and executives at subsidiary companies. The performance bonus plans for the various AIG units were set before the company teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, forcing them to take government aid last September.