New Amendment

Published in to "The Hill" newspaper on October 16, 2007

Hold gov’t agencies to SOX standards

Five years after passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, it’s time to ask: Is what’s good for the goose also good for the gander?

At one of Rep. Lee Terry’s (R-Neb.) town hall meetings some time ago, he was discussing Enron’s collapse and commiserating with me and others who lost our shirts in the collapse of our Enron 401(k) funds. Enron was originally Internorth, headquartered in Omaha, Neb.
After he explained Sarbanes-Oxley, I asked if department heads of government programs shouldn’t also be required “under penalty of law” to sign their financial reports. After all, sometimes billions in tax revenues are unaccounted for by government agencies.
As I recall, Rep. Terry chuckled at the idea.

It may be time for an amendment to the Constitution subjecting those spending our money, and wielding the use of force, to mandatory prison time if they violate citizens’ rights or post false financial documents. Wouldn’t the workers be a lot more careful not to make mistakes, just as we ask of private businesses?

Bellevue, Neb.