"But the issue that I feel bears the greatest importance right now was the timely response to the corporate scandals that have shaken our nation¡s economy. 

"On Thursday, we came together in a bipartisan fashion to find a common sense way to hold greedy executives accountable for their actions.  The Corporate Accountability Act creates tougher penalties for corporate and accounting fraud while strengthening laws to protect investors, employees, and those with retirement accounts.  It creates strong accounting oversight and auditor independence through the establishment of a public auditing regulatory board.  Under the bill, executives will be held accountable for honest bookkeeping, and will be subject to new corporate responsibility standards. 

"I feel confident that this legislation will be the catalyst that restores the confidence of hard-working families in our economy, that will punish those who have done wrong, and most importantly, that will make greedy corporate climbers think twice before messing with other people¡s money."

~I am honored to have been included in this important discussion with President Bush.  As we address Homeland Security legislation, it is critical that we reach across party lines to find a common sense solution to restore our nation¡s security and keep our families safe.

~The creation of a Homeland Security Department is a task that requires careful thought; we cannot let it fall prey to election year party politics.  During this afternoon¡s meeting, my colleagues and I spoke with President Bush and Governor Ridge about our concerns for this new Department, and the need to elevate Homeland Security from just another federal agency to a cabinet position, an idea I have stressed ever since President Bush created a Homeland Security Department.  Doing so would ensure cooperation between agencies when it comes to keeping our borders secure and our families safe.

~As President Bush told us, %we¡re still at war.¡  It is a very difficult process of tracking one terrorist after another, both here and abroad.  Being able to conduct that process to the best of our ability is an integral part of winning this war.E

~The U.S. embargo was put in place some forty years ago, yet it has failed to open the doors of democracy to the Cuban people.  Instead, these sanctions against Cuba are costing American agriculture, especially in Arkansas, billions of dollars because of an embargo put in place when I was born.  Instead of buying their rice from the U.S., they buy it from China.  That has hurt farm families in Arkansas for decades.  We have military power to punish countries suspected of supporting terrorist activities, we shouldn¡t use our farm families as a weapon.

~Today, we have fewer farm families than ever before, and we should do all we can to help our struggling farmers.  Opening up our markets to Cuba will help increase demand for our agriculture products, and therefore, increase domestic prices, helping our farm families survive.   I am disappointed that the House of Representatives failed to see this.  It¡s time that we open up our markets to the Cuban people, for the benefit of the Cuban people and, more importantly, for the benefit of our farmers here in Arkansas.E