Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. press release, July 25, 2002

\EWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Rood, Suit* 304 315 Cannon Houi* Office Building Lutherville, Могу land 21093 Wodungton, D.C 20515 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Henry Fawell Thursday, July 25, 2002 202/225-306 1 Congressman Ehrlich Backs Tough Corporate Crime-Fighting Initiative Ehrlich: “Crooks Have No Place Left To Hide ” WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Bob Ehrlich (MD-2) voted today for a sweeping corporate crime-fighting initiative to help prosecute corporate crooks and restore public confidence in the American marketplace. H.R. 3763, The Corporate and Auditing Accountability Act, was adopted overwhelmingly this morning by the House of Representatives. Congressman Ehrlich continued, “With today’s vote, corporate crooks have no place left to hide. Their free-wheeling days of short-changing honest Americans are over. I was proud to vote for a tough, no-nonsense bill, which goes a long way towards restoring faith in capitalism and the markets.” Congressman Ehrlich has worked for months on corporate crime-fighting initiatives. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, of which Congressman Ehrlich is a member, led some of Congress’ most aggressive investigations into corporate accounting frauds. In April, Ehrlich voted to crack down on corrupt auditing firms, and last week voted for tough new criminal penalties for corporate wrongdoers, including increased jail time for obstruction of justice. These provisions were included in H.R. 3763, which President Bush is expected to sign into law. H.R. 3763 creates a new board to monitor the auditors of publicly-owned companies and limits and accounting firm’s ability to profit as consultants to the companies they audit. In addition, it gives shareholders greater time to sue companies that cook the books in an effort to mislead the public. The legislation also dramatically increases maximum fines and jail sentences for those who violate new and existing corporate laws.