POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION TRANSPARENCY URGED

WASHINGTON, DC -- A campaign has been launched to convince companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to dirsclose all political contributions they make with corporate funds.

The effort, led by the Center for Political Accountability and the Council of Institutional Investment and joined by nearly 50 institutional investor and shareholder advocate groups, was spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court's January 21 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which CPA and CII argue "rewrote America's campaign finance laws."

Currently, 73 S&P 500 companies -- including nearly half of the S&P 100 dsiclose and monitor corporate political spending. These include Hewlett-Packard, Merck, United Technologies, e-Bay, Aetna and Microsoft.

On February 24, a letter was sent to the chairs of 427 companies that have yet to adopt disclosure and accountability policies for political spending.

In the letter, CPA and CII contend that by removing all but a handful of restraints on corporate America, the ruling "poses a major challenge to companies and their shareholders," warning: "It is likely to put companies under immense pressure to use shareholders' funds to support candidates, groups and causes whose positions and activities could threaten a company's reputation, bottom line and shareholder value."

"It's imperative that companies protect themselves from the pressure to give and form ill-considered spending," said Bruce Freed, president of CPA. "That's why adopting policies and procedures for political disclosure and accountability is so important for companies and their shareholders. The companies that have done so, including nearly half the S&P 100 have voluntarilty agreed to disclose and require board oversight of their political spending with corporate funds."

The Council of Institutional Investors, a leading advocate for good corporate governance, has long urged boards to disclose, monitor, assess and approve all charitable and political contributions made by their companies.

"Investors need to know how their money is being spent in the political arena," said Ann Yerger, the Council's executive director. "And boards need to step up to the plate and ensure that political checks the company writes enhance, not erode, shareholder value."

In addition to the CPA and CII, the following institutional investors and shareholder advocates are among those who have signed the letter: California Public Employees Retirement System, New York State Common Retirement Fund, New Jersey State Investment Counci, Connecticut State Treasurer, Trillium Asset Management, Domino Social Investment, Walden Asset Management, Green Century Capital Management, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Social Investment Forum, Sheet Metal Workers' National Pension Fund, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Amalgamated Bank.

The Center for Political Accountability (CPA) is a nonprofit association or public union and corporate pension fund with corporate assets of $3 trillion. Member funds are major long term shareowners with a duty to protect the retirement assets of millions of American workers. The Council of Institutional Investors strives to educate its members, policymakers and the public about good corporate governance, shareowner rights and related investment issues, and to advocate for members.