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Obama pushes bill to rein in lavish CEO pay
Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:41am EDT
INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) -
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will push on Friday for passage of a bill to put the huge pay packages of some U.S. corporate executives under greater scrutiny.
The Illinois senator has introduced "say-on-pay" legislation that would give investors more of a voice in setting executive compensation packages.
"We've seen what happens when CEOs are paid for doing a job no matter how bad a job they're doing. We can't afford to postpone reform any longer," Obama said in prepared remarks for delivery later on Friday.
"That's why Washington needs to act immediately to pass this legislation."
Amid fears the U.S. economy may be in recession, many U.S. voters are anxious about a weakening job market, the mortgage crisis and higher gasoline prices.
At the same time, many are also expressing outrage over big pay packages given to executives of some of the companies at the center of the financial and mortgage crises, such as Bear Stearns Cos Inc and Countrywide Financial Corp.
Obama is vying with Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York for the Democratic nomination to run for president. The winner will face Republican Sen. John McCain in November's election.
Clinton supports the "say-on-pay" bill.
In his home state of Arizona last week, McCain added his voice to those expressing concern about the vast compensation earned by executives when their firms performed disastrously and most shareholders lost millions of dollars.
"I think it is outrageous when someone who is the head of Bear Stearns cashes in millions and millions of dollars in stocks," McCain told reporters on Saturday.
"I think it is unconscionable when the guy who is the head of Countrywide and his co-conspirators make huge amounts of money when Americans face the threat of losing their homes."
(Reporting by Caren Bohan; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:41am EDT
INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) -
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will push on Friday for passage of a bill to put the huge pay packages of some U.S. corporate executives under greater scrutiny.
The Illinois senator has introduced "say-on-pay" legislation that would give investors more of a voice in setting executive compensation packages.
"We've seen what happens when CEOs are paid for doing a job no matter how bad a job they're doing. We can't afford to postpone reform any longer," Obama said in prepared remarks for delivery later on Friday.
"That's why Washington needs to act immediately to pass this legislation."
Amid fears the U.S. economy may be in recession, many U.S. voters are anxious about a weakening job market, the mortgage crisis and higher gasoline prices.
At the same time, many are also expressing outrage over big pay packages given to executives of some of the companies at the center of the financial and mortgage crises, such as Bear Stearns Cos Inc and Countrywide Financial Corp.
Obama is vying with Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York for the Democratic nomination to run for president. The winner will face Republican Sen. John McCain in November's election.
Clinton supports the "say-on-pay" bill.
In his home state of Arizona last week, McCain added his voice to those expressing concern about the vast compensation earned by executives when their firms performed disastrously and most shareholders lost millions of dollars.
"I think it is outrageous when someone who is the head of Bear Stearns cashes in millions and millions of dollars in stocks," McCain told reporters on Saturday.
"I think it is unconscionable when the guy who is the head of Countrywide and his co-conspirators make huge amounts of money when Americans face the threat of losing their homes."
(Reporting by Caren Bohan; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
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