[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12241]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

  (Mr. UDALL of Colorado asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, it seems that every week we hear 
another story of a corporation cooking the books, too often with the 
help of accountants who are supposed to be protecting investors and the 
public. And while they cook the books, they burn the American people 
and the economy suffers.
  Some of those involved say, these are just technical details, or they 
act like the piano player in the bordello, saying they did not know 
what was going on upstairs. But it is becoming clear that many knew all 
about it and it is nothing but plain, old-fashioned fraud.
  Congress needs to clean up this mess by passing stronger corporate 
accounting and pension protection legislation than the version the 
House passed this spring. Talk is cheap, but the cost to the public has 
been high, and will be higher yet if we do not act.
  Corporate CEOs need to be accountable with criminal and financial 
penalties when they falsify financial reports or mislead the public 
about company stock. CEOs should not be allowed to sell company stock 
in an executive plan during a lockdown period when the employees are 
prohibited from doing so.
  We need to set up a strong, independent watchdog over the accounting 
industry. For markets to work fairly, the American public needs the 
truth. Strong legislation is crucial to restoring the truth and trust 
in corporate America and faith in our markets.

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