Wednesday, July 17, 2002
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Wednesday, July 17, 2002 |
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Collins praises Bush, cabinet for handling of corporate scandals In letters to President Bush, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, U.S. Rep. Mac Collins congratulated their handling of the Enron collapse and subsequent exposure of corporate corruption. "I applaud your wisdom and integrity, and firm resolve in refusing to bailout Enron and Global Crossings when they sought government assistance to correct their misbehavior. Had you conceded, the precedent that would have been set would now be a disastrously expensive corporate bailout, with taxpayers footing the bill for the fraud of multimillionaire thieves," Collins said. "It would have created the incentive for other companies to engage in the same type of activities. As it is today, others who have also defrauded their shareholders are now being exposed and prosecuted. "With greater enforcement, tougher oversight, and better investigations, these captains of industry who subvert the trust of their investors are being brought into the light of day, exposing the illegal activities of those who would defraud the public. I commend you on your past diligence and renewed efforts to seek out this corruption and expose the fraudulent practices these corporations have worked so hard to conceal," Collins wrote. The comments by President Bush in New York last week set the right tone for those who would seek to mislead stockholders, while avoiding economy-strangling over-regulation, the Georgia lawmaker said. "[This] was a wake-up call for many others who have engaged in the same kind of activity," Collins said. "They have seen the light and at the end is judgment and punishment. I urge you to pursue those responsible for illegal activities and to put those who intentionally defraud the public where they belong in prison." In addition to his praise for the administration's handling of these crimes, Collins called on the White House to examine the root cause of this type of behavior and forward suggestions for Congress. "Obviously the complexity of our tax code has been a major contributing factor to this situation. I urge the Administration to offer the Congress suggestions about the best way to correct the contributing factors which create an incentive for companies to cook their books," Collins said. "If they will propose common sense solutions, I will seek their implementation in legislation."
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