Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. form letter to constituent, 2002?

FIELD(letterdate) FIELD(nameline) FIELD(title) FIELD(organization 1 ) FIELD(organization2) FIELD(addressl) FIELD(address2) FIELD(address3) FIELD(address4) IFNOTBLANK(city)FIELD(city), FIELD(state) FIELD(zip9)ENDIF Dear FIELD(salutation2b): Thank you for contacting me regarding corporate responsibility and investor and employee protection from fraud. I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter. I believe corporations share the same responsibility every individual, family, small business, or government does to balance its books and behave ethically within the law. Recent events in the corporate world, including financial misconduct at Arthur Andersen, Enron, Global Crossing, and WorldCom, among others, have shaken investor confidence, robbed many employees of their life savings, and damaged our economic recovery. These developments have raised serious questions regarding corporate financial accounting. The energy-giant Enron Corporation shocked the energy and financial communities by filing for Chapter 1 1 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy in American history. Enron’s stock, worth at one time more than $80 per share, has tumbled to less than 500 a share. Early testimony indicates errors in judgment and potential wrong-doings allowed Enron to overstate its value by $850 million while hiding its debts from investors, creditors, and the public. Enron's disclosure of the overstatement triggered a final plunge in the company's stock price and the company's bankruptcy filing. The economic, political, and social implications of the failure of America’s seventh largest corporation and a loss of over $20 billion of shareholder wealth cannot be overstated. The repercussions of this failure are far-reaching. Further, Arthur Andersen, Enron’s chief auditing firm, has publicly accepted responsibility for errors related to Enron’s collapse. Ten Congressional Committees, four executive Agencies, and the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are investigating the Enron debacle. The Congressional hearings and investigation are designed to prevent future collapses of this nature, determine the effectiveness of Federal oversight and regulatory agencies, and assess if revision to Federal law is necessary to protect employees and shareholders. My colleagues and I on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are aggressively pursuing the facts that led to Enron’s collapse. An ongoing chronology is available at: http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/keywords/Enron.htm. State and Federal justice and oversight officials are aggressively pursuing criminal and civil penalties. Indictments have been brought against Enron and Andersen Corporations and their