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Bush to Push for Corporate Reforms
Friday, June 28, 2002
(4:30 PM ET) (20:30 GMT)
By Kelly Wallace
The Cable News Network

"We're not in favor of government intrusion, but we are in favor of a regulatory environment that assures confidence, that assures that when laws are broken, they are enforced and people go to jail. I think that's what's been missing over the last couple of years."
-- Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle
D-South Dakota

WASHINGTON -- CNN
President Bush, who expressed outrage this week about the WorldCom financial scandal, vowed Friday to hold corporate executives accountable to a higher standard than "trying to fudge the numbers."

Democrats too are using the issue to garner political support, criticizing the Republican administration for allowing corporate malfeasance to take place on a grand scale.

Bush, who will use his Saturday radio address and a July 9 speech in New York to demand that corporate leaders live up to a "higher ethical standard" according to a senior administration, gave a preview of his views at a campaign appearance for Rep. Connie Morella, R-Maryland.

"Let me tell you how strongly I feel about this. I believe if somebody is running a corporation, if somebody has got responsibilities to shareholders and employees, they have the responsibility to be above board at all times, to be frank and honest with all the numbers," said Bush.

"We can have all kinds of rules, and we will. I mean, I laid out some initiatives in March of this year that will hold people accountable. And our Justice Department will hold people accountable.

"But corporate America has got to understand there's a higher calling than trying to fudge the numbers, kind of try to slip a billion here or a billion there and may hope nobody notices; that you have a responsibility in this country to always be above board.
(More: CNN Online News Source)
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Dan