The Honorable Tom Feeney
U.S. House of Representatives
323 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0924

Dear Congressman Feeney:

America’s Community Bankers applauds your efforts over the past year to understand and address the effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“Act”) on public companies. ACB has long been concerned with the costs and other burdens that Section 404 of the Act has imposed on smaller public companies without commensurate benefits to investors. This is particularly true with respect to community banks that are part of a highly regulated industry and that have been subject to reporting requirements similar to Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991.

ACB therefore supports your efforts to reduce the compliance burdens of Section 404 of the Act by crafting and introducing the “Competitive and Open Markets that Protect and Enhance the Treatment of Entrepreneurs Act,” or the COMPETE Act. By introducing this legislation, you have taken an important step forward toward obtaining appropriate exemptions for smaller public companies, as well as audit relief for larger companies.

ACB looks forward to working with you to reduce the burden of Section 404 on smaller publicly traded companies.

Sincerely,

Robert R. Davis
Executive Vice President and
Managing Director, Government Relations