[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 82 (Wednesday, June 19, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H3701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HOLDING CORPORATE AMERICA ACCOUNTABLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bonilla). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, this morning I read the following quote 
from Matthew Ruane, director of listed trading at Gerard Klauer 
Mattison and Company: ``There's a lack of liquidity, a lack of reason 
to buy, terrorism fears and earnings issues out there, especially in 
the drug sector.''
  The statement was in response to a question regarding the continued 
decline of the major stock indexes in America. I have no quarrel with 
the facts included in this statement. It is the omission that troubles 
me. In the mind of many Americans, this American included, there is an 
integrity crisis on Wall Street and in corporate America.
  I am a businessman of 34 years, former director of two banks, an 
investor in the stock market and a strong believer in the power of the 
free enterprise system. Yet with that power comes responsibility. In 
the past year, the American investor has seen a host of disturbing news 
stories centered on the issue of corporate integrity and few, if any, 
have been encouraging.
  I have great confidence and respect for American businesses and the 
men and women who run them. But the silence of these good men and women 
is becoming deafening. Enron, Arthur Andersen, Wall Street brokerage 
houses, executive compensation, document shredding, insider trading and 
other stories confront the average American every day, with little or 
no response from corporate America, other than an explanation.
  Corporate America is not a fraternity, nor should it be. Neither 
should Wall Street brokerage houses be a fraternity. I acknowledge they 
have common interests, but those interests are secondary to the 
interest of the American economy, the American investor and their 
individual stockholder.
  What is my point? Simply put, corporate America and Wall Street face 
a crisis that will not pass on its own; and just as the shareholders of 
Enron were the big losers in their crisis, many Americans now fear that 
they, not the corporate boardroom, will be the big losers.
  It is time for corporate executives to speak out. Wall Street needs 
to look in the mirror and ask itself serious questions, the answer to 
which is not ``this too shall pass.''
  Unlike 20 years ago, more and more Americans depend on their 401(k) 
and investments for their retirement; and, because of that, more 
Americans than ever are in the stock market. Wall Street has become an 
insider's game played with outsider's money. The strength of the market 
has become more dependent on individual confidence of average 
Americans, but that confidence is eroding.
  Endless reports of questionable practices and alleged crimes have 
only served to accelerate investor concerns that began with the 
market's decline in the first quarter of 2000. It is my judgment there 
is too little accountability on Wall Street. Some will tell you that 
corporations and their leaders are accountable because they lose equity 
and lose value when their stock declines. While true to an extent, 
individual investors lose too, and collectively far more than corporate 
executives.
  If corporate America wants to improve the environment on Wall Street, 
then it is time for corporate executives and corporate directors to 
hold themselves more accountable and demonstrate to the market a zero 
tolerance for questionable practices and poor judgment. Every investor 
understands, or should understand, that investing in the market 
involves risk; but that risk should not be compounded by moral and 
ethical failure in the corporate office, executive office, or the 
corporate boardroom.

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