Hon. Michael G. Oxley: “Today, the House turns to H.R. 3763, the Corporate and Auditing Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency Act. To…”

“Today, the House turns to H.R. 3763, the Corporate and Auditing Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency Act. To my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, today we must act. We must act for our Nation's investors, retirees, and employees of publicly traded companies; and that covers a large majority of Americans. In recent months our struggling economy has absorbed a number of shocks. We have endured two large bankruptcies, Enron and Global Crossing. Thousands of jobs have been lost for hardworking employees. Billions of dollars are gone from investment portfolios and retirement plans. Investor confidence has understandably wavered. Congress has examined these issues for 4 months. The Committee on Financial Services alone held seven hearings, took testimony from 33 witnesses; and we are but one of many panels. We know now what happened, and we know what needs to be done. Now it is our responsibility to do something about it. We owe action to the American investor who faithfully puts away money every month in his IRA or his 401(k) plan. We owe action to the employees who lost their jobs, and we owe action to all of the American companies who are operating in good faith and working to grow.”