U.S. Chamber Cautious on Swift Conference Action on Corporate Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce responded to today's agreement by the House and Senate conferees on corporate reform legislation with caution, saying the bill could have wide-ranging impacts on large and small businesses.

"A rush to legislate is rarely in the best interests of consumers, investors, workers, or the economy," said Bruce Josten, U.S. Chamber executive vice president. "While it appears the conference committee has applied some brakes to the legislative locomotive, the full impact of the remaining reforms is not well understood."

Early news reports suggest conference negotiators have included a handful of improved provisions to the Sarbanes bill on accounting reform — including a doubling of criminal penalties, clarification on loans to executives, broader Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight for the new accounting oversight board and new disclosure requirements.

"Greater transparency will help protect the integrity of market information and should begin reassuring investors," said Josten. "If early reports from the Hill are correct, the final bill has recognized that the current oversight system would not benefit from a new, parallel system with duplicative reporting requirements.

"Creating a new class of corporate criminals, inviting attorneys into boardrooms, and reducing the ability of business owners to make decisions about their companies' operations, could have significant unintended consequences."

The conference bill, which the White House has indicated it will support, includes some pension protections for workers. The Chamber has supported efforts to limit the ability of corporate officers to sell stock during "blackout" periods and greater advance notice for workers of upcoming "blackout" periods, when they cannot make changes to their 401(k)s.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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