[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 4079-4080]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 F_____
                                 

                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. FRIST. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations on 
the Executive Calendar: Calendar No. 31, reported by the Banking 
Committee, and all the nominations on the Secretary's desk. I further 
ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, the President be immediately 
notified of the Senate's action, any statements relating to the 
nominations be printed in the Record, and that the Senate then resume 
legislative session, with all of the above occurring en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The nominations were considered and confirmed en bloc, as follows:


                   securities and exchange commission

       William H. Donaldson, of New York, to be a Member of the 
     Securities and Exchange Commission for the remainder of the 
     term expiring June 5, 2007.

               Nominations Placed on the Secretary's Desk


                          foreign service C-PN

       PN199 Foreign Service nominations (157) beginning Russell 
     J. Nicely, and ending George Adams Moore, Jr., which 
     nominations were received by the Senate and appeared in the 
     Congressional Record of January 15, 2003.
       PN200 Foreign Service nominations (243) beginning Nicholas 
     R. Kuchova, and ending Richard W. Johnston, which nominations 
     were received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional 
     Record of January 15, 2003.


                   nomination of william h. donaldson

  Mr. SARBANES. Madam President, I rise to express my support for the 
nomination of William H. Donaldson to be the Chairman of the United 
States Securities and Exchange Commission.
  In my view, Mr. Donaldson will bring considerable relevant experience 
to the position of SEC Chairman. He founded and managed a major 
investment company, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and served as 
Chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange. He was Chairman, 
President and CEO of a multi-billion dollar public company, Aetena, 
Inc., and served as the first Dean and a Professor at the Yale School 
of Management. His background demonstrates that he is qualified for 
this position.
  Mr. Donaldson will face a daunting task as the new SEC Chairman. He 
must join with his fellow Commissioners to appoint the Chairman of the 
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. He must address the 
challenge of restoring confidence to the capital markets. And I very 
much hope that he will move immediately to implement full pay parity of 
salary and benefits for the SEC staff.
  I am pleased that, in his appearance before the Senate Banking 
Committee, Mr. Donaldson recognized the importance and immediate 
challenge of implementing the new accounting responsibility and 
investor protection legislation which the Congress passed last

[[Page 4080]]

year. He testified that he ``will vigorously enforce the Sarbanes-Oxley 
Act and the rules and regulations already put forth by the SEC.'' He 
said, ``I will demand accountability from all responsible parties. I 
will aggressively enforce civil penalties and work cooperatively with 
the state and federal law enforcement agencies and the President's 
corporate fraud task force to bring those who break the law to 
justice.'' He went on to pledge to call on corporate America and Wall 
Street to restore the principles of honesty and integrity to their 
proper place.
  Mr. Donaldson also indicated a strong concern for the welfare of the 
SEC employees. He pledged to address issues of staff morale and union 
relations at the Agency.
  I am hopeful that Mr. Donaldson will effectively manage the SEC and 
effectively enforce the Federal securities laws. I hope that he will 
bring about a new era of respect for the Agency and confidence in the 
U.S. securities markets.

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