On the Bandwagon to Limit CEO Pay
Something strange has happened to Senate Democrats. Just a few weeks ago, few showed any interest in taking up House-passed legislation that would rein in
Jul 31, 2020153.1K Shares2M Views
Something strange has happened to Senate Democrats.
Just a few weeks ago, few showed any interestin taking up House-passed legislation that would rein in executive pay for companies that accepted cash under the Troubled Assets Relief Program. Instead, party leaders said they’d trust the new administration to spend the TARP funds wisely.
Today, in the few hours that have passed since President Barack Obama (sort-of) made good on his pledge to install executive-pay limits for bailed-out banks, there’s been a small flurry of bills introduced to limit executive pay under TARP as part of the stimulus package.
One proposal, introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), would require companies benefiting from TARP to disclose all 2008 bonuses, as well as those dished out in the future while the tab to taxpayers remains unsettled.
Another bill, introduced by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Me.), would force bailed-out firms to reimburse Washington for any bonuses larger than $100,000 they paid to employees in 2008.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) also used the timeliness of this morning’s White House announcement to urge Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to get behind an older Kerry proposal trimming the amount of executive pay that bailed-out companies can claim as a tax deduction.
No word yet on the odds of these proposals working their way into the stimulus bill. But one thing seems clear: The populist anger against Wall Street that Mary referenced this morninghas found its way to the Senate.
Rhyley Carney
Reviewer
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