View Halliburton Proposal

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today issued the following statement after the federal Securities and Exchange Commission ruled that the Halliburton Company could omit the City’s shareholder resolution from its 2005 shareholder proxy:

“I am disappointed with what appears to be a full retreat by the Securities and Exchange Commission from its own proposal that would have given shareholders a means of placing nominees to the board of public companies on the companies’ proxy ballots. Halliburton has given its shareholders good reasons to be concerned about its leadership: reports of questionable book keeping regarding contracts with the Pentagon, back door operations in a country designated by the U.S. State Department as a sponsor of terrorism, and reports of payments of ‘unjustified’ fees to win a contract in Nigeria. These apparent missteps raise questions about the leadership of the Board of Directors, and suggest strongly the need for proxy access to enable shareholders to hold directors accountable and to nominate candidates who could bring fresh perspectives to the leadership of the Company.”

Thompson, on behalf of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, cofiled a resolution with the AFSCME Employees Pension Plan and the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds on November 16, 2004. That proposal called for Halliburton to establish a process for granting shareholders access to the proxy for shareholder-nominated candidates to the company’s board.

Halliburton appealed to the SEC on December 13, 2004 asking to be allowed to omit the proposal from its 2005 shareholder proxy. The SEC disclosed its decision on Monday. NYCERS holds 604,203 shares of Halliburton common stock, with a market value of approximately $25,104, 643.

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