Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I have offered this amendment on behalf of quite a number of Senators--Senator Reed, Senator Kaufman, Senator Durbin, Senator Harkin, Senator Leahy, Senator Levin, Senator Menendez, Senator Whitehouse, Senator Franken, Senator Feingold, Senator Merkley, and myself. This amendment provides that the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States limiting claims under the securities acts for aiding and abetting will be overturned by this legislation. This amendment is very similar to an amendment which was offered in the 107th Congress by Senator Shelby, the ranking member of the Banking Committee. For many years, the federal law provided a private right of action against aiders and abettors. As of 1994, every circuit of the federal courts of appeals had included civil liability in a private lawsuit under the securities laws. In a radical departure in 1994, the Supreme Court held, in Central Bank of Denver, that aiders and abettors are not liable in private suits. The Court's 5-to-4 decision in Stoneridge in 2008 complicated the matter even further, where the Supreme Court held that if the defendant did not make representations directly to the person buying or selling the securities, that the individual was not liable, even if he himself had engaged in fraudulent conduct. This is a subject I have long been interested in.…”