Patty Murray: “over the past year as Americans have worked hard to restart our economy, we have been hit by report after report of…”

“over the past year as Americans have worked hard to restart our economy, we have been hit by report after report of irregularities, misconduct, and blatant conflicts of interest by corporate executives, auditors, and brokerage firms. The current corporate and auditing scandals are hurting American families. Thousands of jobs and retirement accounts have disappeared. Millions of current investors have watched their gains evaporate. Our economic recovery looks more distant. And most importantly for our long-term prosperity, investors are no longer confident that the financial information provided by public companies and their auditors is accurate. Congress cannot restore the jobs and retirement savings caused by this wave of corporate and auditing scandals. It can act to strengthen oversight of the accounting industry, to demand greater responsibility from corporate executives, and to address conflicts of interest in brokerage firms. Today I am voting for reform. We need to send a strong message to working and retired Americans, to investors, and to the executives and auditors of publicly held companies that this Senate will act to restore accountability and faith in our free market system. The Senate's bipartisan accounting reform bill will do just that.”