President Bush, signing what he called the most far-reaching overhaul of the nation's business practices since the Great Depression, vowed yesterday to fight as vigorously against corporate corruption as he has against terrorism...."Corporate corruption has struck at investor confidence, offending the conscience of our nation," Bush said at the ceremony. "Yet, in the aftermath of September the 11th, we refused to allow fear to undermine our economy, and we will not allow fraud to undermine it, either."
Eight hours after the signing, the White House issued an interpretation of the law that... said the administration would provide federal job protection for employees who are cooperating with an investigation authorized by the House or Senate. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said the section was intended to be much broader, and to apply also to whistle-blowers who provide evidence of fraud to an individual lawmaker, even before a formal investigation is launched....
"The era of low standards and false profits is over; no boardroom in America is above or beyond the law," [Bush] said. "No more easy money for corporate criminals -- just hard time."
--Washington Post, 31 July 2002