Corporate And Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

Corporate And Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act Of 2009

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Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3269, the Corporate and Financial Institution Compensation Fairness Act of 2009.

This legislation is important because it encourages the corporate community to address the issue of excessive compensation to high level executives by creating greater transparency and giving investors a ``say on pay.'' Some studies have found that as recently as 2003, CEO compensation was 500 times that of an average worker. Even in 2008, a year of significant economic decline, the median CEO salary actually increased by almost 5% with the average worker's wages went up only 2.8%.

This legislation protects the interests of investors, including pension and mutual fund participants, giving them an advisory vote on executive compensation. Today's legislation comes in response to growing concerns in the economic community that excessive executive compensation is helping to fuel systemic risk in corporate America. These luminaries, including former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker and the Group of 30 believe that compensation structures were a factor in the current financial crisis. The legislation will not affect smaller institutions such as credit unions and companies that hold less than $1 billion in assets.

I believe this legislation strikes the right balance in addressing executive compensation while protecting the rights of the companies that provide so many jobs and are so critical to New York's economy.

I urge the rest of my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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