WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ShareOwners.org (http://www.ShareOwners.org) Executive Director Maureen Thompson issued the following statement today:

"In a victory for shareowners, the House Financial Services Committee today approved an amendment to the Investor Protection Act (IPA) offered by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Gary Peters (D-MI) that clarifies the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission to allow shareholders to nominate directors. The Committee later approved the IPA, which will be packaged with other pieces of legislation reforming oversight of the financial markets and considered on the House floor, most likely in December.

The amendment confirms the authority of the SEC to issue rules on proxy access--the authority for shareholders to nominate directors to corporate boards. Proxy access is vital for shareowners like me who want a meaningful choice in exercising their right to vote for board members.

Supporters of this proposal are long-term shareholders seeking to promote the long-term health of the American economy and financial system. In this way, proxy access is actually a market-based approach to regulatory reform. By giving shareowners a true voice in the boardroom, you can ensure that we will be better able to provide oversight of directors and management and to hold them accountable for their actions."

THE SHAREOWNERS.ORG AGENDA

The four-part ShareOwners.org agenda is spelled out in detail on the Web and may be summarized as follows:

* Stronger regulation of the markets through a beefing up of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ensuring that it has the resources and authority to increase supervision and enforcement of financial professionals, hedge funds, and mutual funds, and also forfeiture of compensation and bonuses earned by management in a deceptive fashion, strengthening state-level shareowner rights, and protecting whistleblowers and confidential sources who expose financial fraud and other corporate misconduct.

* Increased accountability of boards and corporate executives by allowing shareowners to vote on the pay of CEOs and other top executives, empowering shareowners to more easily nominate directors for election on corporate boards, requiring majority election of all members of corporate boards at American companies, splitting the roles of chairman of the board and CEO at major companies, stopping the practice of brokers casting votes for shareowners in board elections, and allowing shareowners to call special meetings.

* Improved financial transparency, including a crackdown on corporate disclosure abuses used to manipulate stock prices, strengthening corporate disclosures so that shareowners can better understand long-term risks, and protecting U.S. shareowners by promoting new international accounting standards.

* Enhanced protection of the legal rights of defrauded shareowners, which means preserving the right of investors to go to court to get justice, ensuring that those who play a role in committing frauds bear their share of the cost for cleaning up the mess, and allowing state courts to help protect investor rights.

ABOUT SHAREOWNERS.ORG

Launched in June 2009, ShareOwners.org (http://www.ShareOwners.org) is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that will educate and organize U.S. investors to support both short- and long-term financial market reforms. ShareOwners.org's broad four-part agenda focuses on the need for stronger regulation (including a beefed-up SEC), increased accountability of boards/CEOs, improved financial transparency and protection of the legal rights of investors.

SOURCE ShareOwners.org

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