Trent Lott: “I note the House bill includes an entire title pertaining to the use of electronic signatures in securities…”

“I note the House bill includes an entire title pertaining to the use of electronic signatures in securities transactions. That language falls under the jurisdiction of the House Commerce Committee, but in the Senate, the jurisdiction is in the Banking Committee. Clearly, there is Banking Committee jurisdiction in this legislation in the House bill. Also, let me get specific about what and whom we are talking about. We are talking about three very thoughtful Members of the Senate who have a real interest in these electronic signatures and securities transactions. They are: Senator Gramm, the chairman of the Banking Committee from Texas; Senator Bennett from Utah, who had been very much involved in our efforts to pass the Y2K legislation last year and in a number of areas, including cyberterrorism--he is very knowledgeable in this whole area--and Senator Sarbanes, the ranking member on the Banking Committee. These are not three Senators who would be anything but instructive in sharing information in an area in which they have a greater knowledge than the Members of the Commerce Committee.”