Patrick Leahy: “I want to compliment the majority leader for turning to the Sarbanes bill and the issue of corporate responsibility. I…”

“I want to compliment the majority leader for turning to the Sarbanes bill and the issue of corporate responsibility. I also want to thank Chairman Sarbanes for his leadership on the impressive bill that he has produced in the Banking Committee. So many times all that the public hears about Congress is about turf and partisanship. This comprehensive reform effort disproves those claims. Thanks to the leadership of the Majority Leader and Senator Sarbanes, the bill that we are about to vote on is a tough, comprehensive reform package that enjoys broad bipartisan support in the Senate. It brought together the best ideas from many Senators, from many Committees, and from both parties. From my standpoint, as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, this has been an opportunity to benefit once again from the wonderful partnership that we have forged between the Banking Committee and the Judiciary Committee. After September 11, our two Committees worked together to write the anti terrorism provisions of the USA Patriot Act that dealt with money laundering. Here, with the 97-0 vote to adopt of the provisions of the Corporate and Criminal Fraud and Accountability Act, as a Leahy-McCain amendment to this bill, Senator Sarbanes and I have again united the forces and expertise of our Committees. This time we have done so to craft comprehensive laws to deal with financial wrongdoing, and again done so with bipartisan support in both Committees.”