Dreier Votes for Tougher Punishment For
Criminal Corporate Executives

July 16, 2002

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman David Dreier, Chairman of the House Rules Committee, voted today to toughen penalties for corporate leaders who swindle the American public through manipulative accounting and other fraudulent practices. H.R. 5118, the Corporate Fraud Accountability Act of 2002, increases penalties for activities like mail and wire fraud and provides additional tools for prosecutors to crack down on corporate criminals.

“The majority of business executives in our nation are decent, responsible leaders who honestly care for their employees and investors,”Dreier said. “But no matter how you spin it, crime is crime. Businessmen who extort the American public just to line their own pockets deserve to be punished like the common criminals they are.”

The bill strengthens laws that criminalize obstruction of justice, such as document shredding, closes loopholes that currently allow corporate officers to use bankruptcy laws to discharge liabilities and requires top corporate executives to certify that financial statements of the company fairly and accurately represent the financial condition of the company.

In April the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3762, the Pension Security Act, which was designed to enhance retirement security and insist on greater corporate accountability.

“The public demands security and accountability, which we responded to in April with the Pension Security Act,” Dreier said. “I’m very pleased we acted today to strengthen these penalties. It should send a strong signal to corporate executives, there will be sever consequences for criminal activity.”

H.R. 5118 increases the criminal penalties for those who file statements with the Securities Exchange Commission to a maximum penalty of $5 million and 20 years in prison.