[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 93 (Thursday, July 11, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H4500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 WORKING TOGETHER ON A BIPARTISAN BASIS

  (Mr. SHERMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, so much corporate malfeasance, so little 
time, so much to do. I join with the earlier speaker in saying that we 
should work together on a bipartisan basis, and indeed this House did 
pass a bill in April, but it passed a bill in which virtually every 
Democratic amendment was rejected out of hand, rejected on a partisan 
vote.
  So we do not have a bill that requires the SEC to actually read the 
financial statements of the largest companies and make sure that they 
are not misleading or obtuse.
  We do not have a requirement that audit firms have malpractice 
insurance or that they require their technical review partners to sign 
off on their audits.
  What we have is a bill that is bipartisan in form only. Working 
together is not just working with the other body. It is working with 
both sides of the aisle.
  Let me also take this opportunity to commend the Financial Accounting 
Standards Board whose slow and ineffectual action makes the House and 
the Senate look effective by comparison.

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