Political Quotes

“I rise to support H.R. 658, the Accountant, Compliance and Enforcement Staffing Act of 2003. Investor protection is one of my top priorities for my work on the House Financial Services Committee, and H.R. 658 will improve investor protection by allowing the Securities and Exchange Commission to accelerate the hiring process for hundreds of accountants, economists, and compliance examiners. As a result, I support this bill. During the last year, Democrats led the efforts in Congress to significantly augment the resources available to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including increasing its annual budget by more than $270 million. We increased this funding to help the Commission to effectively implement the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which we enacted in 2002 in response to a series of large-scale corporate scandals at companies like Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Global Crossing, Adelphia, and Rite Aid. The increased appropriations provided to the Commission have permitted the hiring of hundreds of new professionals to police the securities industry.”