Public Benefit Corporation Restoration Act
Return to the Founders' vision: corporations should serve customers, workers, and communities—not just Wall Street. Profit is a means, not the end.
🏛️ What Does This Bill Do?
America's Founders believed corporations should serve the PUBLIC good—not just make shareholders rich. Somewhere along the way, that got flipped. Now the BIGGEST companies (worth $50 billion+) must REPORT how they treat customers, workers, communities, and the environment. They don't have to change—but they DO have to be transparent. And if they do great? They save money. If they refuse to report? They pay more, and that money pays down the national debt!
📜 What the Founders Actually Said
This isn't a new idea—it's the ORIGINAL idea. America's Founders warned us about corporate power.
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government."— Thomas Jefferson, 1816
"A corporation is an artificial being, existing only in contemplation of law. It possesses only those properties which the charter of its creation confers upon it."— Chief Justice John Marshall, 1819
"When economic power became concentrated in a few hands, then political power flowed to those possessors, ultimately resulting in oligarchy or tyranny."— John Adams, 1814
🏛️ The New Priority Order
Customers First
Happy customers = successful business. Quality products that meet real needs.
Workers Matter
Fair pay, safe conditions. Workers before Wall Street bonuses.
Communities Count
Impact on towns where companies operate. Environment protected.
Transparency Required
Report how you treat stakeholders. Let investors and customers decide.
👥 Who Are "Stakeholders"?
Everyone affected by a corporation—not just the people who own stock!
Workers
The people who do the work
Customers
The people who buy products
Suppliers
The businesses that provide materials
Communities
The towns where companies operate
Environment
The planet we all share
🎯 Pilot Program: Biggest Companies First
This starts with the LARGEST corporations—about 500 companies worth $50 billion or more.
📋 What Companies Must Report
Annual "Benefit Report" filed with the SEC—how they treated stakeholders all year.
Customer Satisfaction
Return rates, complaints, safety recalls
CEO-to-Worker Pay
Top 5 salaries vs. median worker pay
Environmental Impact
Pollution, resources, climate effects
Community Effects
How operations affect local areas
💰 Public Benefit Assessment: Good Behavior Saves Money
A tiny fee based on market cap—but TOP performers pay NOTHING!
Standard Rate
Annual fee on market cap for most companies
Top Quartile
EXEMPT if you're in top 25% of benefit performance
Refuse to Report
5x penalty for companies that won't be transparent
💵 ALL money collected goes to the Public Benefit Debt Reduction Fund—paying down the national debt!
🛡️ Built-In Protections
Disclosure Only
Companies must REPORT—not change their business. Transparency, not mandates.
Private Companies Exempt
Only applies to publicly traded corporations. Private business unaffected.
Business Judgment Preserved
Directors still make decisions. No mandated choices.
Biggest First
Only $50B+ companies. Congress must approve expansion.
GAO Reviews
Independent evaluation at Years 3 and 7.
10-Year Sunset
Expires unless Congress reauthorizes.
🏛️ Restore the Founders' Vision
The Founders knew that concentrated corporate power could threaten democracy. They believed corporations should serve the PUBLIC—customers, workers, communities—not just stockholders seeking maximum profit. Somewhere in the last 150 years, we forgot that. This bill brings it back: the biggest corporations must be TRANSPARENT about how they treat stakeholders. Do well? Pay nothing. Refuse? Pay more, and it reduces the national debt. That's showing your work.
Gregory Burgess for Congress
No Party Preference • California's 2nd Congressional District
"Show Your Work" Campaign