Ehrlich on Washington column, July 14, 2002

HEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Rood, Suit* 304 315 Cannon Hous* Offico Building LulUrvill», Maryland 2 1 093 Washington, D.C 205 1 5 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of July 1 4, 2002 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Cracking Down on Corporate Crime In recent months, Americans have watched corporate giants like Enron and WorldCom buckle under the weight of their own corruption. Honest Americans - those who keep our factories running and our economy strong - are losing their jobs because a handful of corporate executives violated the most basic concept of our free-market system: trust. Millions of hardworking Americans put their trust in the free-market system to ensure a healthy, secure retirement. We invest in individual stocks, 401(k)s, mutual funds, and pension funds in hopes of making our golden years the best of our lives. When executives cook the company books and lie to shareholders, they jeopardize not just their company’s future, but also the hopes and dreams of honest Americans. I believe in the resilience of our free-market system. I am convinced our markets and our economy will right themselves and thrive in the very near future. But I also believe the government has an obligation to protect the interests of investors without doing additional harm to the economy. I am particularly encouraged by the tough approach President George W. Bush is taking in the fight against corporate crime. In a blunt speech to corporate executives last week, President Bush announced the creation of a federal task force to spearhead corporate investigations, prosecutions, and coordination between federal agencies that fight financial crimes. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, FBI Director Robert Mueller and top officials from the Internal Revenue Service, and Securities and Exchange white- collar criminals who short-change American investors and pensioners. Second, the President called for a doubling - to ten years - the maximum prison term for statutes commonly used in prosecuting corporate crime, such as wire fraud and mail fraud. I also agree with his call for tougher laws to criminalize document shredding and other forms of obstruction of justice, even if they took place before subpoenas were issued.