Political Quotes

“recent news from the corporate world has been pretty grim. All too often we have seen headlines from corporations like Enron and WorldCom that reveal appalling abuse and fraud leading to layoffs and bankruptcies. From the magnitude of the problem, it looks as though corporate fines are simply not enough to discourage billions of dollars in fraud. It is time for stronger penalties such as those offered in this bill. The workers in my district of West Virginia and everywhere else have concerns about their families' futures. Whether they are saving to educate their children, working to secure their own retirements, hardworking West Virginians do not want to see another corporate hocus-pocus act where they get the raw end of the deal. I am proud to say that we passed legislation, CARTA, Corporate and Auditing Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency Act and the Pension Security Act, and today we are taking another step in the right direction. This legislation strengthens laws that criminalize obstruction of justice, close gaping loopholes and requires top executives to certify that their financial statements of their companies are fairly and accurately representing the financial condition of their company. Mr. Speaker, the workers in America want assurances that the dollars they are working for today and saving will be there when it is needed down the road.”