Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., plans to introduce a bill next month to cap executives’ pay — and the bill has a catchy name.
The “Stop the Greed on Wall Street Act” would ban companies that received cash from the Treasury Department’s financial rescue plan from paying any employees more than $400,000. That’s the salary currently earned by the U.S. president.
The cap would make $400,000 the max for total compensation, including cars, benefits and retirement, all of which have added up to millions of extra dollars for CEOs.
Outlining legislation he plans to introduce when Congress reconvenes next month, Sanders said the bill would prohibit companies that received cash infusions from the Treasury Department from paying any of their employees more in total compensation than the $400,000 salary of the president.
It’s unclear what the chances would be of passing such a bill when the House reconvenes the week of Nov. 17 for organizational meetings. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she’d like to see the House pass a second economic stimulus package soon, but no agenda has been set for when the House returns.
Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson this week, expressing their constituents’ outrage over executive pay and saying executives being able to leave with “golden parachutes” undermines public confidence in the financial rescue plan.
Regardless of what happens in November, expect to see executive pay remain a popular topic for months to come on the Hill.
