[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14244]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            CORPORATE REFORM

  (Mrs. MALONEY of New York asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of real 
corporate reform legislation and urge the conference committee to adopt 
the proposals put forth by Senator Sarbanes.
  Financial markets around the world are in a highly anxious mood, U.S. 
fiscal policy is plunging our country back into deficits, and the 
credibility of some of our most trusted companies' financial statements 
is undermined. This is no time to delay the establishment of fully 
independent oversight of the industry by a newly created public 
accounting board that is not under accounting industry control.
  As the conference committee nears its completion, the funding for the 
new oversight board must not be used as a means of undermining its 
independence.
  Senator Sarbanes' legislation provides the board with funding from 
public companies as they are audited, a mechanism that separates the 
board funding from the accounting firms it will oversee and it protects 
its independence.
  The Sarbanes legislation will not turn the markets around by itself 
but it will send a message to investors here and abroad that Congress 
is serious about removing the conflicts of interest.

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