[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 100 (Monday, July 22, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H4988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            CORPORATE GREED

  (Mr. BROWN of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, a scandal-weary American people awoke 
this morning to more unpleasant news. WorldCom, an employer of 60,000 
people, $107 billion in assets, announced that it would seek bankruptcy 
court protection.
  Millions of Americans have watched their retirement accounts 
evaporate because of fraud, rampant greed, and misgovernance in some of 
America's largest corporations. Ordinary investors and Wall Street 
alike have demanded stronger oversight of the accounting industry, 
rules that prohibit accounting firms from consulting the companies they 
audit, new authorities for Federal prosecutors to investigate and to 
punish corporate criminals, and a requirement that top executives 
personally certify the accuracy of their companies' financial 
statements.
  Legislation that would make these needed reforms passed the other 
body unanimously last week. Throughout the 1990s, Republicans rushed to 
unravel regulations and block needed reforms and helped creates the 
permissive regulatory environment that has led to recent corporate 
scandals. Now the Republican leadership has stubbornly refused to bring 
meaningful accounting reform to the floor. Why, Mr. Speaker?

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