Political Quotes

“I rise today--along with my good friend, Senator Hatch--to offer our bill, the White-Collar Penalty Enhancement Act of 2002 as a second-degree amendment to amendment No. 4174, Senator Leahy's amendment to S. 2637. Let me begin by applauding Senator Sarbanes for his leadership in sponsoring S. 2637, and guiding it through his Banking Committee with a 17-4 vote. It is my hope and expectation that it will win the same overwhelming support on the floor of the Senate. I also commend Senators Leahy and Daschle for offering the Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability Act, of which I am a cosponsor. Let me briefly recount the events which bring me to the floor today to offer this amendment to increase penalties on white collar criminals. In recent months, dramatic events have shaken our country out of complacency. A decade of peace and prosperity came to an end, first with a shattering reminder of our vulnerability to external threats, and then with a series of spectacular corporate collapses that revealed cracks in the very foundation of our economic system.”