House Proceeding on Jul 31st, 2009 :: 0:21:55 to 0:25:40
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0:21:48 to 0:22:08( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: that all members be given five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on house resolution 697. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: house resolution 697 provides for consideration of h.r. 3269, the corporate and financial institution compensation fair act of 2009

0:21:55 to 0:25:40( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: James P. McGovern

0:22:09 to 0:22:29( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: under a structured rule. it provides one hour of general debate controlled by the committee on financial seices. the rule makes in order an amendment by chairman frank derek baitable for 10 minutes, and makes in order an amendment in the nature of the substitute by representative garrett, debatable for 30 minutes.

0:22:30 to 0:22:50( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: the rule provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. i rise today in support of h.r. 3269, the corporate and financial institution fairness act. i would like to congratulate my good frienand colleague from massachusetts, chaman barney frank, for all of his hard work on this bill. mr. speaker, if the last year

0:22:51 to 0:23:11( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: has taught us anything, it's that the compensation practices of some of our largest corporations have gotten completely out of control. middle class americans on main street are struggling to hold on to their jobs, struggling to pay for health care and education and food and energy. they have seen their wages stagnate while their costs have

0:23:12 to 0:23:34( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: skyrocketed. meanwhile, over on easy street, things are great. corporate executives are continuing to give themselves multimillion dollar pay packages. the golden parachutes are still flying. one of the most egregious of this came when american

0:23:35 to 0:23:56( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: taxpayers watched as a.i.g. doled out lavish bonuses after being bailed out of the financial mess they helped create. chairman frank is thoroughly committed to ensuring our financial system remains sound. and i am pleased to see this bill as the first piece of larger reforms by the house financial services committee. mr. speaker, i would also like to voice my support for the

0:23:57 to 0:24:17( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: proposed consumer financial protection agency. i know there has been strong pushback from the industry, but i would like to commend my colleagues for their perseverance in putting these protections in place. the bill will help to give the owners of these corporations, the shareholders a meaningl voice in how companies are run.

0:24:18 to 0:24:38( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: specifically, this bill grants shareholders a say on pay for top executives by guaranteeing them a nonbinding advisory vote on their company's pay practices. again, this vote is nonbinding. the boards of directors and the compensation committees are free to ignore their shareholders' wishes, but those shareholders will at least have

0:24:39 to 0:25:00( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: the opportunity to express their views. the bill will also strengthen the ability of federal regulators, namely, the federal reserve and the federal deposit insurance corporation to restrict pay structures that encourage inappropriate risk at financial companies. if regulators see a large company driving itself off the cliff by employing unstable pay

0:25:01 to 0:25:23( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: practices for top executives, they should have the ability to act. i'm pleased that the financial services committee adopted a number of amendments. to note one in particular, mr. hensarling, myepublican colleague from texas, recognized the need to take the size of the institution into account. his amendment to exempt financial institutions with assets of less than $1 billion

0:25:24 to 0:25:40( Edit History Discussion )

James P. McGovern: from the bills' incentive base compensation disclosure requirements and related compensation oversight was adopted in committee. i look forward to the debate on this bill and on the republican substitute which is made in order under this rule. i urge my colleagues to set a -- send a strong message that