On May 19, Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced the Shareholder Bill of Rights Act of 2009 in the U.S. Senate. Arguably, it is one of the most significant efforts by Congress to reform the shareholder rights and corporate governance realm since the creation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission more than 70 years ago.
The impetus for the bill is the current desperate condition of the U.S. economy and financial system. The body of the bill partly faults a “widespread failure of corporate governance” and the lack of accountability of the members of corporate boards to shareholders for causing the loss of trillions of dollars in shareholder value held by millions of Americans in pension plans, 401(k) plans and direct investments.