For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 15, 2002

Statement by the President

In February, I outlined measures to protect the pensions of America's workers from corporate wrongdoing. In March, I proposed a series of initiatives to improve shareholder information, strengthen corporate governance and create a stronger, more independent accounting system. Last week, I called for additional far-reaching reforms. I am pleased the Senate has now acted on a tough bill that shares my goals and includes all of the accounting and criminal reforms I proposed. The House previously passed strong reform legislation to get tough on corporate malfeasance and significantly improve oversight of the accounting profession. I urge the House and Senate leaders to get a bill to my desk before the August recess. We owe it to Americas workers and shareholders to crack down on wrongdoing and fix the system to prevent future abuses.

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