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Gold9472
04-18-2006, 07:22 PM
Democratic senator wants SEC investigation of ExxonMobil's $400m 'retirement package'

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Democratic_senator_wants_SEC_investigation_of_0418 .html

Published: Tuesday April 18, 2006

Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said ExxonMobil CEO Lee Raymond's $400 million retirement package is a "shameful display of greed" and said oil companies have "hooked their hose up to the pocketbooks of American citizens and are sucking money from ordinary Americans into the treasury of the giant oil companies," RAW STORY has learned.

In a statement, Dorgan said he wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the deal, and wants ExxonMobil called before Congress "to explain their actions."

Dorgan is a member of both the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee and the Energy Committee.

“These major oil companies have hooked their hose up to the pocketbooks of American citizens and are sucking money from ordinary Americans into the treasury of the giant oil companies," he said in a statement. "The result is that Exxon reported the highest profit in the history of corporate America last year. Today we read that while farmers struggle to pay the fuel bills and drivers are paying painful prices to fill their gas tanks the oil companies are rolling in cash and their retired executives are getting obscene retirement benefits.”

Dorgan adds that he wants ExxonMobil to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee to explain how a corporation justifies giving a retirement package worth nearly half a billion dollars to one individual. He said the SEC also needs to investigate the arrangement which appears to shortchange ExxonMobil stockholders.

ExxonMobil defended Raymond's compensation package in its proxy statement filed on April 12, saying it was "appropriately positioned relative to CEOs of U.S.-based, integrated oil companies and other major U.S.-based corporations, particularly in view of the long-term performance of the company and the substantial experience and expertise that Mr. Raymond has brought to the job."

But, in comparison, an Associated Press article noted that "Chevron Corp. Chairman and CEO David O'Reilly received a $1.55 million salary, $3.5 million bonus and $3.57 million in long-term compensation."

According to the Wall Street Journal, "Raymond's pay package amounted to $190,915 a day."

More from Dorgan's release

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“There can be no more compelling evidence that the price gouging and market manipulation which has produced record oil prices is out of control, and is working to serve the forces of individual greed and corporate gluttony at the painful expense of millions of American consumers,” Dorgan said.

He noted when oil prices were at the $40 per barrel level, oil companies were reporting then-all time record profits. Instead of investing those windfall profits in things that would increase domestic energy supplies and thereby tamp down prices, “they are simply choosing to take the money and run,” Dorgan said.

“I think a sensible public policy would insist that the big oil companies either invest those windfall profits in things that will increase our own domestic energy supplies, or we should return some of that money to consumers. Using them to drop $400 million dollars in the pocket of a big oil executive is simply unacceptable.”

In November of last year, Dorgan forced a U.S. Senate vote on a windfall profits rebate plan. The plan applied only to the major integrated oil companies, and would have imposed a 50% windfall profits tax on oil company revenue derived from sales of oil at more than $40 per barrel. Windfall profits invested to boost domestic energy supplies would have been exempt from the tax. Revenues collected by the tax would have been rebated to consumers.

The measure was defeated. Dorgan said he intends to try again. “I don’t think the Congress can continue to ignore what’s going on,” Dorgan said Tuesday.

beltman713
04-18-2006, 07:47 PM
Yeah, this is definitely a good idea. A 400 million dollar retirement package is obscene, especially with gas prices as high as they are.