Angie Craig: “let me spend a few minutes talking about the underlying legislation, S. 2673. There has been a great deal of debate over…”

“let me spend a few minutes talking about the underlying legislation, S. 2673. There has been a great deal of debate over the last good number of days on this issue. I am pleased that we were able to get cloture. It is time we move on to this issue. The American public, a good many stockholders, a good many pension plans, a good many retirement plans are discussing what are we going to do about the meltdown that last occurred in corporate America at the executive level with some key corporations. It is really, in most instances, a crisis of confidence. There are a lot of well-run corporations across America that are publicly held. They have historically observed the prudent rules. Their boards have acted responsibly. But there are bad players. There are big, bad players that have had a dramatic impact on the markets. There is no question that we have to deal with this straight away. When I look at the whole of this issue, it isn't just in the markets where there is a crisis of confidence that Americans share: When you look at 9/11, then Enron, then WorldCom, and, of course, all the scandals that have occurred, and out in the West with the Ninth Circuit suggesting that the Pledge of Allegiance isn't constitutional, put all of that together, and America has to be scratching its head at this moment, asking: Where does all of this take us? Where is that rock of stability that we have come to rely on for so long?”