Good morning, this is Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. I'd like to speak with you today about an issue that is important to each and every American and to our Nation's economic future.

Our financial markets have been widely regarded as the fairest, most transparent, and most efficient in the world. But now it's becoming increasingly clear that something has gone wrong -- seriously wrong. We are facing a crisis of confidence that is eroding the public's trust in our markets, and poses a real threat to our economic health.

Day after day since the collapse of Enron Corporation, it's been clear the problems we confront are by no means unique to one company or one industry. On Wednesday of this week, America awoke to the news that our second largest telecommunications provider - WorldCom - acknowledged that its books were off by nearly 4 billion dollars - 4 billion dollars.

A week earlier, a jury delivered a guilty verdict against the Arthur Andersen accounting firm. And financial problems have been revealed at Global Crossing, Tyco, Rite Aid - the list goes on and on. This drumbeat of revelations is crippling confidence in our financial institutions. We ignore it at our peril.

The strain on the economy is deep and spreading. Hard-working American families have been hit hard by these actions. Jobs are eliminated; pension funds suffer grave losses; and shareholders see their portfolios plummet and their retirement prospects decline. Corporate wrongdoing is being felt not just at the boardroom table, but at the kitchen table as well.

We can't afford to wait for the next corporate deception, followed by the next round of layoffs, and the next collapse of a company's pension fund. We need to take action to restore public trust in our financial markets. And that begins with restoring public confidence in the accuracy of financial information.

Just last week, the Senate Banking Committee passed on a strong bi-partisan 17-4 vote, a major piece of accounting reform and investor protection legislation. This bill strengthens corporate accountability and auditor integrity; addresses conflicts of interest, and protects employees, pension holders, and investors against fraud and deception.

Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle has indicated he will bring this bill to the Senate floor during the week of July 8. We need to pass this strong legislation and restore the confidence of the American people in our economy.

During the debate, the Senate will also consider tough penalties for executives who commit corporate fraud. It is critically important that wrongdoers be held accountable.

Financial irresponsibility and dishonesty pose a real threat to our economic recovery, and to the retirement security and investments of millions of working families.

We must act decisively to reaffirm the standards of honesty and industry that have made the American economy the most powerful in the world. We must pass strong legislation to restore confidence in our economy. The time to act is now.

This has been Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland. Thank you for listening.