Michael Oxley

Mr. OXLEY

Mr. OXLEY. Madam Speaker, let me first recognize the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) for their leadership on this very, very important issue. The whole concept of taking terrorist assets that have been seized and compensating victims seems so elemental to our system of justice that it has clearly been one that has been incorporated in this legislation, both in the House and in the Senate; and I would say without the leadership of these two gentlemen, we would not be here today. As we know, the House passed our version of the terrorism insurance legislation back last year. The Senate finally moved in June. We just appointed conferees right before the August recess. We are ready to go to work on this side. I will say I have had some discussions with participants from the other body. They seem ready and prepared to move forward. There is no reason why we cannot get this legislation, this conference committee work, completed and on the President's desk as quickly as possible, I would hope certainly by the end of September. That is not an unrealistic possibility. I just saw a study the other day that the amount of construction sites that are standing idle and the amount of money in those construction sites now is over $10.5 billion. That is an awful lot of jobs that we are losing as a result of this. Somebody once predicted without terrorism insurance we could have a loss of 1 percent of our Gross Domestic Product off the growth numbers. That is an awful lot of jobs, an awful lot of economic activity. So, Madam Speaker, let us dedicate ourselves today to first passing this excellent motion to instruct conferees. I want to assure both gentlemen that my main task over the next few weeks will be to bring this conference report to the floor of the House and get it signed by the President.

Mr. OXLEY

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 3210) to ensure the continued financial capacity of insurers to provide coverage for risks from terrorism, with a Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.

Mr. OXLEY

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5005 and the hard work of the Select Committee on Homeland Security. By creating the Department of Homeland Security we will send a clear message to the world that the United States will not sit idly by while our enemies plot against us. It is critical that we quickly approve this measure in order to ensure that the President has the tools necessary to protect our citizens from evil acts perpetrated by those who hate our free and open society. The creation of a Department of Homeland Security is a logical and necessary step. There are over 100 different federal agencies which are charged with protection of our borders. By consolidating this collection of bureaucracies into one agency, we will eliminate duplication of effort and conserve resources. As Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, I have reviewed the Committee's jurisdiction over three programs within the Federal Emergency Management Agency that would become the responsibility of the new department. These programs are: the National Flood Insurance Programs, the Defense Production Act, and the Emergency Food and Shelter Program. FEMA's mission is to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters of all types. The Financial Services Committee believes that FEMA's expertise in consequence management is critical to the function of the proposed Office of Homeland Security and that all of these programs should remain within FEMA at this time. I commend the Committee's proposal to move the United States Secret Service to the new Department and maintain it as a ``distinct entity'' outside the four major jurisdictional cylinders established under the new Secretary. The long dual-role history of the Service--investigation and protective--combined with its more recently developed expertise in preventing and investigating cyber crimes, and its core mission of protecting the financial system of the United States make the Secret Service uniquely suited to draw from and augment the work of the other component agencies of the new Department. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the Majority Leader and the other Members of the Select Committee for all their efforts in crafting this bill. The creation of this new department will be reflected in the history of our Nation as occurring at a time when Americans joined together in a unified fight against terrorism and against those who seek to suppress freedom. I strongly urge my colleagues to cast aside partisan differences and vote in favor of this legislation.

Mr. OXLEY

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Trade Promotion Authority Conference Report. I would like to thank the distinguished Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Thomas, for crafting this balanced and fair legislation. Trade Promotion Authority is absolutely critical to reenergize our economy, create jobs and stimulate growth. TPA will grant the President, in consultation with Congress, the ability to negotiate in good faith with our trading partners. Without TPA the United States will once again be excluded when the other nations of the world begin negotiations for a free trade agreement. Our competitors in Europe are already party to over one hundred free trade agreements, while the U.S., the world's largest and most powerful economy, is party to only 3 such agreements. I would like to address my colleagues on the importance of TPA as it relates to trade in services. The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of services, and service is the fastest growing sector of the U.S. economy, accounting for 80 percent of both GDP and private employment. In 2000, the cross-border services trade surplus was $76.5 billion, offsetting 17 percent of the $452 billion trade deficit that year. These exports supported 4.4 million U.S. jobs in 2000 and added 20.6 million new U.S. jobs to the economy between 1989 and 1999. Services encompass all economic activity other than agriculture, manufacturing and mining. Financial services are a key component in the trade in services equation. Financial services firms contributed more than $750 billion to U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 1999, nearly 8 percent of total GDP. More than six million employees support the products and services these firms offer. Expanded trade in financial services will enable U.S. service providers to gain access to more markets in critical global financial centers and developing countries. With greater trade in financial services, global economies will be required to develop more sophisticated and more transparent financial systems. This is turn will result in a stronger and more innovative global economic marketplace. With economic hardships in Argentina, Japan and China, expanded trade in financial services will act as an incentive for these countries and others to reform their financing practices and develop more stable economic systems. I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote to approve TPA. This legislation will give the President critical authority to seek to open additional markets for U.S. financial service providers, improve the regulation of international financial markets, and provide international customers access to a greater number of financial products. All of these actions will lead to a more sophisticated, better run global financial marketplace and a faster economic recovery. Our workers are counting on us, our employers are counting on us, and the world is counting on us. We must approve TPA today.

Mr. OXLEY

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, we indeed, I would say to my friend from New York, have come a long way. This has been quite a journey. The gentleman from New York pointed out that we had first gotten that jurisdiction in the new Committee on Financial Services last January, and what a ride it has been on a number of very important issues, but nothing is more important really than restoring investor confidence in our system, and that is really what brings us here today in this legislation. Our committee was the first to have a hearing when Enron became an issue. That was back last year, in December. We were the first committee to have a hearing on the WorldCom bankruptcy. We then passed meaningful legislation, known as CARTA, back in April when nobody thought we could do it, passed it out of the committee on a bipartisan vote, came to the floor, it passed by a 3-to-1 margin with 119 Democrats voting for that legislation, and the heart and soul of what we have today was embodied in the CARTA legislation. There is a lot of misinformation out there that that is not the case. Believe me, the idea of having an oversight board, an independent oversight board, tightening the rules through the SEC, providing more penalties and more transparency all were embodied in the CARTA legislation and that is why it enjoyed such wide bipartisan support. And then 3 months later, the Senate acted when the WorldCom situation blew up, and I give them a great deal of credit. That is what brings us here today, to adopt this conference report. We have made enormous progress. The SEC is strengthened substantially. The gentleman from New York mentioned the analyst issue. Chairman Baker, at my direction last year, started hearings on analyst conflicts and it brought us to a press conference in February in which we announced that the SEC and the SROs were getting together and drafting regulations. Those regulations have been in effect now for 2 weeks. Nobody knows about it because everybody is paying attention to what is going on here in the Congress, but those are very important rules that are going to be very effective in dealing with analysts and their conflicts. The New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ, announced listing requirements, again, virtually ignored in the media but really have teeth in terms of corporate governance. They are saying to these folks, ``If you don't get your act together, you're not going to be listed on the NASDAQ or the New York Stock Exchange.'' The Business Roundtable stepped forward with best practices. So we are here today to celebrate, I think, a very strong bipartisan bill. This is how the process works. We had great consultation and work with the Senate. I want to pay tribute to my good friend from New York, the ranking member of our committee, who I worked with on a number of issues, and also in particular Senator Sarbanes, the chairman of the Banking Committee in the Senate. I cannot think of anybody that I have worked with in my 21 years in the Congress who has been more open to ideas and suggestions and has been more professional in the way he has handled himself on this important legislation, and he deserves a great deal of credit for getting us where we are today. Sometimes in the world of Washington politics it is all about who is up, who is down, who has won, who has lost. The bottom line here is the American people have won. We have restored or are beginning to restore investor confidence with what we have done, as well as what happened in the private sector and among the regulators. Yes, we strengthened the SEC, and, yes, even with the increased authorization, I would say to my friend from New York, the SEC will still be getting twice the amount of fees that it will take to run the organization. This has been a wonderful experience I think for all of us, and I would encourage and urge all of the Members to support this very strong conference report. Let us get this bill to the President for his signature, hopefully as early as next week. I think all of us can take a great deal of pride in what we have been able to accomplish today.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Hart), a valuable member of our committee.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson).

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas).

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains on both sides.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Ferguson).

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Roukema). (Mrs. ROUKEMA asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased now to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Financial Services, and a member of the conference committee.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), a member of the conference committee.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I bring to the floor today a tough, sensible conference report that responds in a measured way to the very real crisis of confidence among America's 85 million investors. I am proud of the result we have reached. We act with the assurance that Congress must do something, yet remain acutely aware of the dangers of overreacting to a genuine problem and making matters worse. Make no mistake, this is a difficult period for those who love and cherish the free enterprise system. Since early 2000, our capital markets, although still the most respected in the world, have unquestionably suffered a series of blows--mostly self-inflicted--which have truly damaged the public's faith in the integrity of corporate America. The Committee on Financial Services, and this body, have not sat idly by, however. Indeed, in response to Enron, Global Crossing and other bankruptcies, my committee was the first out of the gate, holding a series of hearings and passing a good, targeted bill on the House floor in April with the support of 119 of my Democratic colleagues. Nearly 3 months would go by before the Senate passed companion legislation. The Senate built on the House bill's chief objectives, strong oversight of accountants, increased corporate responsibility, and improved information for investors. The conference report before us today includes important provisions from both sides of the Capitol, but it also contains the following proposals offered only by the House: Disclosure of important company information to investors in real time, the inclusion of civil fines levied by the SEC in restitution funds for defrauded investors, tougher criminal penalties for a broad array of corporate crimes, and increased SEC supervision of the accounting oversight board. Though by no means a panacea, the conference report will help restore investor confidence in our markets. Investors can be assured that convicted corporate criminals will be sentenced to long jail time. In my view, the prospect of doing time, real time, will serve as an effective deterrent to wrongdoing in the corporate suite. We saw a little bit of that yesterday with the arrest of the Adelphia executives in New York. Investors will now get better information and will get it faster and they will have more faith in the numbers because the accountants will be more vigilant, as will audit committees. This legislation, combined with the truly substantive and far- reaching reforms proposed by the industry's self-regulatory organizations and the brutal and unforgiving market forces, will help restore faith in the system. A strong dose of character, honesty and ethics would not hurt, either. For two decades in Congress, I have advocated a free market approach to regulation, but I also believe that capitalism can only flourish under the rule of law. Those views are not at odds. In fact, they are quite consistent. Government must be careful not to overreach and stifle the entrepreneurial spirit that has made the United States the most successful economy in the history of the world. At the same time, government has a responsibility to punish--and do so swiftly and severely--those who seek to cheat and steal from others. I believe the conference report crafts a careful and appropriate balance of these two philosophies. I am proud of the bipartisan process that produced this legislation. Corporate accountability is an investor and retiree issue. It is not a partisan issue, and those who would attempt to make it so do a real disservice to all of us. I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for this historic, pro-investor bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3763.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the previous order of the House of July 24, 2002, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 3763) to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, and for other purposes.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the Board will have discretion to contract or outsource certain tasks to be undertaken pursuant to this legislation and the regulations promulgated under the Act. Examples of tasks suitable for contracting or outsourcing would include maintenance of computer databases and registration records. Of course, an exercise of discretion in this manner does not absolve the Board of responsibility for the proper execution of the contracted or outsourced tasks.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Baker), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), a member of the conference committee.