Kathy Castor: “I urge support of H.R. 1257 to provide a reality check to the skyrocketing compensation of CEOs of corporations across…”

“I urge support of H.R. 1257 to provide a reality check to the skyrocketing compensation of CEOs of corporations across America. From 1995 to 2005, average CEO pay increased five times faster than that of the average worker. The American people understand the growing disparities in earnings in our country. The average CEO makes more money before lunch than the average worker earns all year. So today I urge my colleagues to bring a measure of accountability to the boardroom by allowing shareholders to voice their opinions in a meaningful way about the multimillion-dollar paydays of their CEOs. Last week, one of my hometown newspapers, the St. Petersburg Times, reported on 'Corporate Paydays That Boggle the Mind.' They reported that in one of the richest corporate paydays ever, the CEO of oil company Occidental Petroleum Corporation received a total compensation package last year of $416 million. These record profits and paydays at a time when my neighbors and the American people are paying record prices at the gas pump highlights the need for a new direction in this country for energy policy.”