Cantwell’s Statement on Indictment of former Enron CEO: ‘It’s about time.’
WASHINGTON, D.C . - U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued the following statement in response to the federal grand jury indictment of Jeffrey Skilling, former Enron CEO:
"Today, a federal grand jury indicted Jeffrey Skilling, the former CEO of Enron, on 42 charges, including fraud and insider trading, related to his role in the infamous Enron scandal.
"It’s about time.
"I recognize that it’s a painstaking process for federal prosecutors to piece together the evidence in a complicated case like this and to develop a rock-solid argument for putting those responsible behind bars. I’m grateful to the public servants who are working to bring Skilling and the others responsible for Enron’s activities to justice.
"But let’s not forget that while Skilling and Ken Lay have continued to avoid accountability for their role in defrauding consumers, businesses, shareholders, and state and local governments of tens of billions of dollars, we all continue to pay the price for their crimes.
"Power rates soared, and have yet to come down in many areas. Businesses closed and plants shut down, forcing the layoffs of thousands of workers, many of whom are still out of work.
"By the time the worst was over the resulting crisis had cost the West $35 billion in domestic economic product and a total loss of 589,000 jobs.
"Yet Congress continues to drag its feet on addressing a key cause of the power crisis: the market manipulation tactics Enron used to steal billions and throw the Western economy into a tailspin.
"Although the schemes used by Enron have received the most attention, the fact is that a number of companies around the country have used similar market manipulation tactics. But the energy bill conference report still under consideration by Congress would ban just one type of market manipulation, so-called "round-trip trading."
"That’s why I continue to press for the passage of my bill, the Electricity Needs Rules and Oversight Now (ENRON) Act. My legislation would put in place a broad prohibition on all manipulative practices in electricity markets, not just round-trip trading. It also specifies that electricity rates resulting from manipulative practices are not "just and reasonable" under the Federal Power Act.
"I’m glad that Skilling and other ringleaders of the Enron fraud will finally face a jury. But Congress needs to act now to make sure that no one else can repeat their misdeeds."
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