Mike Pence: “President Calvin Coolidge said the business of America is business. But Coolidge was a moralist, and he meant not that…”

“President Calvin Coolidge said the business of America is business. But Coolidge was a moralist, and he meant not that America is dependent on the almighty dollar but that the business of America is dependent on the integrity and the character of the people who lead our enterprise. Today, our President sounded a clarion, moral call for corporate responsibility. Corporate and accounting malfeasance at companies like Enron, WorldCom, Merck, and Arthur Andersen all argue that this need for reform is urgent. As the President said, business leaders who defraud shareholders should go to jail. As the President said, business leaders must accept personal responsibility for financial statements and be barred from serving on corporate boards when they, even unintentionally, fail in that regard. Mr. Speaker, the reality is, the 1990s was not a decade where people in power were held accountable for their self-serving decisions. Let us follow President George W. Bush's clarion call and make this decade a time again when we recognize in the law and in reform and in regulation that righteousness exalts a nation.”