Walter B. Jones: “But that is not what this bill does. This is about letting stockholders, the owners of publicly traded companies, have…”

“But that is not what this bill does. This is about letting stockholders, the owners of publicly traded companies, have the right, if they want, to render a judgment about whether the compensation for top executives, their employees, is appropriate. I know that this bill is not perfect, but neither is the present system. Corporate directors and executives work for shareholders. I do not see how anyone can look at the present system where sometimes CEOs who have failed their shareholders are getting hundreds of millions of dollars of shareholder money, and then say with a straight face that it is bad for shareholders to be able to directly tell corporate directors what they think about these compensation packages. Mr. Chairman, let me remind the House of a few of the outlandish compensation packages that have been made public: Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli, total compensation for 2006, $131 million; Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O'Neal, total compensation 2006, $91 million; AT&T CEO Edward Whitacre, Jr., total compensation for 2006, $69 million; Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally earned $39.1 million for 4 months in 2006.”