Standing Ready
Last week, the House Financial Services Committee, of which I am a Member, worked in preparation of a vote on important legislation that would have the positive effect of greatly reducing the regulatory burdens of the knee-jerk legislation – The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 – that was passed in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom scandals.
Contrary to some media reports, I stood ready and eager to return from the campaign trail to cast my vote in support of this important legislation – the Small Company Job Growth and Regulatory Act of 2011. After all, I have been a consistent champion for the need to roll back the provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley, if not outright repeal it. But some media outlets accused me of choosing to campaign over traveling to Washington to fulfill my congressional duties. These allegations are simply false, and while I assume that some members of the media were quick to judge without knowing the facts, I seek to set the record straight.
First and foremost, the legislation pending before the Financial Services Committee must be passed, and passed immediately, and I stand ready to return on a moment’s notice to ensure that it does. The small businesses and entrepreneurs of this country are counting on us to lead and provide the regulatory relief necessary to unleash their genius and grow the economy.
The intent of the legislation is to provide an exemption for companies with up to $350 million in market capitalization, rather than the current SEC exemption threshold of less than $75 million that has proved to be too low to provide real relief.
Recognizing that this important vote might occur this past week, I initiated the process of canceling campaign events and diverted a flight to ensure my attendance. However, the circumstances of the vote were not clear, as the Financial Services Committee signaled that uncertainty was growing as to whether the markup would actually occur. Complications with other members, including tentativeness as to the outcome of a vote became apparent. Given the opposition to the legislation on the Committee, increasing the unlikeliness that the vote would occur, and the need to make a decision as to whether my presence was in fact needed, every indication led my staff and me to believe that it made little sense to travel to Washington.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was a horrific overreaction to the corporate governance failures of Enron and WorldCom. In the nearly ten years since its passage there has been little indication that it does what it intended to do. Instead, among a significant list of offenses, it has dampened the competitiveness of the U.S. markets in relation to markets overseas and burdened businesses with costly compliance requirements. I strongly oppose this heavy-handed regulation of corporate America and my colleagues and my constituents can be sure that I was prepared to return this past week, and will do anything in my power to stand with them to pass the important pending legislation.
It was wrong to infer that I was unwilling to alter my plans to vote against the Sarbanes-Oxley Act because the fact is, I did.
Contrary to some media reports, I stood ready and eager to return from the campaign trail to cast my vote in support of this important legislation – the Small Company Job Growth and Regulatory Act of 2011. After all, I have been a consistent champion for the need to roll back the provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley, if not outright repeal it. But some media outlets accused me of choosing to campaign over traveling to Washington to fulfill my congressional duties. These allegations are simply false, and while I assume that some members of the media were quick to judge without knowing the facts, I seek to set the record straight.
First and foremost, the legislation pending before the Financial Services Committee must be passed, and passed immediately, and I stand ready to return on a moment’s notice to ensure that it does. The small businesses and entrepreneurs of this country are counting on us to lead and provide the regulatory relief necessary to unleash their genius and grow the economy.
The intent of the legislation is to provide an exemption for companies with up to $350 million in market capitalization, rather than the current SEC exemption threshold of less than $75 million that has proved to be too low to provide real relief.
Recognizing that this important vote might occur this past week, I initiated the process of canceling campaign events and diverted a flight to ensure my attendance. However, the circumstances of the vote were not clear, as the Financial Services Committee signaled that uncertainty was growing as to whether the markup would actually occur. Complications with other members, including tentativeness as to the outcome of a vote became apparent. Given the opposition to the legislation on the Committee, increasing the unlikeliness that the vote would occur, and the need to make a decision as to whether my presence was in fact needed, every indication led my staff and me to believe that it made little sense to travel to Washington.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was a horrific overreaction to the corporate governance failures of Enron and WorldCom. In the nearly ten years since its passage there has been little indication that it does what it intended to do. Instead, among a significant list of offenses, it has dampened the competitiveness of the U.S. markets in relation to markets overseas and burdened businesses with costly compliance requirements. I strongly oppose this heavy-handed regulation of corporate America and my colleagues and my constituents can be sure that I was prepared to return this past week, and will do anything in my power to stand with them to pass the important pending legislation.
It was wrong to infer that I was unwilling to alter my plans to vote against the Sarbanes-Oxley Act because the fact is, I did.
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