Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise to speak about Specter amendment No. 3776, which has already been debated by the Senator from Pennsylvania, but I wish to bring up the other side because it is a very technical, legal issue which crosses professional fields of accounting, tax preparation, and legal counsel. However, to understand where Senator Specter would take this amendment, I wish to explain where we have been. In 1995, Congress rightly decided that the Securities and Exchange Commission--the SEC--should have sole authority and ability to prosecute criminals violating securities laws. The decision was made because we knew private securities lawsuits would be driven by the wrong factors. At that time, we saw how just a handful of law firms were using class action lawsuits to clog up the courts and to tie up companies in litigation for years for mere fluctuations in company stock prices. Private lawsuits would have negative impacts on the economy, and private securities lawsuits would potentially open small businesses to unwarranted liabilities just as these small businesses are struggling to make a comeback and hope to hire more workers to stimulate our economy. Fifteen years later, in 2010, Senator Specter has introduced an amendment which would run contrary to Congress's decision. Senator Specter's amendment would create what is called a ``private right to action,'' meaning trial lawyers are going to have a field day with this.…”