Letter in advance of the January 22, 2010 House Financial Services Committee hearing, "Compensation in the Financial Industry"

The Honorable Barney Frank
Chairman
Committee on Financial Services
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Spencer Bachus
Ranking Member
Committee on Financial Services
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Frank and Ranking Member Bachus:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, believes that decisions related to compensation at public companies should rest with directors and shareholders, without government interference.

In advance of the January 22, 2010 House Financial Services Committee hearing, "Compensation in the Financial Industry," the Chamber urges members to take into account the potential unintended consequences that may result from government regulation of compensation.

The Chamber would like to draw your attention to three editorials from the Washington Post (Cool anger over Wall Street bonuses by governing how they are handed out, Pay Day, and Acceptable to Feinberg), which spotlight that government intervention has caused more problems than it has solved and that compensation issues should be left to directors and shareholders. Please also note the following articles from Bloomberg News and CNN highlighting problems with the compensation rulings handed down by Treasury Special Master Kenneth Feinberg.

The Chamber looks forward to working with the Committee on this issue and others that are important to America's economic recovery.

Sincerely,

R. Bruce Josten

Cc: The Members of the House Committee on Financial Services