Thomas Daschle: “on behalf of Senator Leahy and others, I offer this amendment which is identical to the Corporate and Criminal Fraud…”

“on behalf of Senator Leahy and others, I offer this amendment which is identical to the Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability Act, S. 2010, passed unanimously by the Judiciary Committee some time ago. I view the Leahy amendment as a necessary complement to the Sarbanes bill. In fact, I think of them as two parts of a vital whole--one element guarantees the truth and honesty of corporate accounting. The other is a deterrent. It says that corporate misrepresentation will be forcefully punished--with jail time. We need both. We need to improve oversight and independence of the accounting profession and hold corporate wrongdoers accountable for their actions. We need to act comprehensively to fulfill our promise to the American people that integrity, honesty, and accountability will be restored to our markets. Last week Senator Leahy and I wrote to the President requesting his views on this bill and the Sarbanes accounting reform bill. Unfortunately, the President has not answered our letter yet. But I hope to hear today--and I think we need to hear today--that he supports and will sign both. We welcome the President's apparent new enthusiasm for reforming our corporate culture, and we look forward to working with him. The administration needs to understand that the time for half measures has long passed. The American people expect and deserve comprehensive reform. Combining the Leahy bill and the Sarbanes bill accomplishes just that.”