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| Wilson Speaks Out in Favor of Landmark Corporate Accountability Legislation Passed by House Today |
July 25, 2002 |
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| Washington, DC - Congresswoman Heather Wilson today addressed the House of Representatives to express her support for the Corporate and Auditing Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency Act, which overwhelmingly passed the House by a vote of 423-3. In her remarks, she pointed to the necessity to maintain honesty and integrity in the American free market system.
“We’ve had some companies led by greedy people who cooked the books aided by accountants who dishonored their profession. That’s fraud and some people should go to jail for it,” said Wilson. “They tried to work around the system, so now we are going to tighten down some of the rules of the system to make sure this can’t happen again.
“We need to restore confidence in the American system of free enterprise. I support American free enterprise, and because I support free enterprise, I believe we need to crack down on people who would break the law and steal people’s retirement security and the money they are saving for their kids’ education. We are a country of free enterprise and we will not tolerate people who break the law.”
The Corporate and Auditing Accountability, Responsibility, and Transparency Act includes the following provisions:
Increases criminal penalties for a broad array of white-collar crimes (including 20 years for document shredding and obstruction of justice), freezes extraordinary payments to employees of companies under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and makes it a crime to retaliate against corporate whistleblowers;
Creates a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to enforce auditing, quality control, and independence standards and rules. Fees charged to all publicly traded companies will fund the board;
Enhances corporate disclosure, including immediate disclosure of any information affecting the material health of the company;
Ensures investors who have lost money in the markets as a result of corporate malfeasance receive compensation from any legal settlement.
The bill is expected to also pass the Senate today and arrive on the President’s desk tomorrow.
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