Commission Reappoints Bill Gradison to Public Company Accounting Oversight Board

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2004-108

Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the reappointment of Bill Gradison to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The Commission unanimously selected Gradison to serve a five-year term as a PCAOB board member upon the completion of his current term.

SEC Chairman William H. Donaldson said, "It is with great pleasure that I join my fellow Commissioners in voting to reappoint PCAOB Board Member Bill Gradison. Bill's broad experience in government and business has been and will continue to be an invaluable resource for the Board."

The PCAOB, established by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, oversees the audits of the financial statements of public companies through registration, standard setting, inspection and disciplinary programs. Under the Act, the Commission selects members and the Chair of the Board after consultation with the Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board.

Biographical Note:

Mr. Gradison is a former nine-term Congressman from Ohio. While in Congress, he served as the Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee and as the Ranking Member on the Health Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. Prior to entering Congress, Mr. Gradison served as an assistant to the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, an assistant to the Under Secretary of the Treasury, and Mayor of Cincinnati. He has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, an investment broker and corporate director. Since leaving Congress, he has been president of the Health Insurance Association of America, a member of the audit committee for Project HOPE, and served on other charitable foundations. Mr. Gradison most recently was the Senior Public Policy Counselor at the law firm of Patton Boggs. He holds an undergraduate degree from Yale and an MBA and doctorate from Harvard.