[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 150 (Tuesday, October 20, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONFERENCE REPORT FOR S. 1260, THE SECURITIES LITIGATION UNIFORM 
                             STANDARDS ACT

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the House has now passed the 
Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998. The premise for 
this federal law is a workable and protective federal standard. 
Throughout the legislative process, we have been careful to ensure that 
the pleading standard rules developed by the United States Court of 
Appeals for the Second Circuit would continue to govern. The 
Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Congress, 
which have worked together on this legislation, have all agreed on that 
standard. As the Conference Report and Statement of Managers makes 
clear, the recklessness standard and Second Circuit pleading rules 
continue in force. Indeed, the managers reiterated that the 1995 
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act reinforced these standards, 
which continue to govern under the 1998 Act, as well. As a member of 
the Judiciary Committee and serving now as its ranking member, I am 
well aware that artificially high pleading standards could create 
unwanted and unneeded barriers to legitimate cases. That is not the 
intent of this legislation and should not be its effect.

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