House OKs Bill to Give Investors Say on Executive Pay

April 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House of Representatives approved a measure to give shareholders more say on how companies pay top executives, rejecting amendments by Republicans who said corporate boards already have enough power to set compensation.
The measure, approved 269-134, aims to rein in pay levels House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and other top Democrats called excessive by giving public-company shareholders annual non-binding votes on executive salaries.
``There are unfortunately a lot of examples of excessive compensation for CEOs,'' Frank said today, speaking to reporters after the vote. ``It bites into other things that you would use the money for.''
Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, has made tackling exorbitant executive compensation a top priority since taking over as chairman in January. He criticized the severance package awarded to former Home Depot Inc. Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli in January as a ``$210 million good-bye kiss.''