New York (HedgeCo.net) – Hedge fund manager and activist investor Carl Icahn has announced that he is forming a political action committee in order to fix Congress. Icahn made the announcement with a tweet that simply said, “I am starting a Super PAC with my initial commitment of $150 million to help end the crippling dysfunction in Congress.”

Icahn has made his fortune by buying stock in companies he felt were being mismanaged and using his clout and stakes in the company to force change, many times those changes included replacing management teams. While he didn’t say it directly, you have to wonder if Icahn intends to take the same approach in Congress. If a member of Congress is deemed to be ineffective or contributing to the dysfunction, does that mean Mr. Icahn will support the candidates that run against them?

In addition to the tweet announcing the formation of the PAC, Icahn also penned a letter to Congress in which he demanded that they take action to stop domestic companies from moving overseas for the sole purpose of lowering their tax bill. Icahn even made proposals in the letter, one of which was a tax holiday that would allow companies to bring assets being held overseas back in to the U.S. at a one-time low tax rate of not more than 8%.

In an article from CNBC, part of Icahn’s letter to Congress was quoted. “I believe the time has come to also hold Senators and Congressmen accountable for the current gridlock in Congress that prevents important legislation from being passed,” he wrote in the letter. And apparently he addressed the potential government shutdown and debt limit increase battle that is looming.

Rick Pendergraft
Research Analyst
HedgeCoVest