Mr. Chairman, I thank you for holding this hearing.

On the issue of bond market transparency:

In response to the threat of Congressional action and under the glare of two highly critical GAO reports and a major bid-rigging scandal, the industry stepped up to the plate in 1991 to create an electronic reporting system for quote and transaction prices for U.S. Treasury and other government securities. Under pressure from the SEC, improvements are being made in transparency in the municipal securities market. But where corporate bonds are concerned, investors buy and sell in the dark and usually get ripped off.

How do I know this? Last night I received the SEC report that I recently requested, and I ask unanimous consent that it be included in the record of this hearing. I also will be posting it on the Committee's Web page. More importantly, I sold some very good bonds and received 60 cents on the dollar for them. I was unable to get any information on why this was so. I know I was cheated but there wasn't a thing I could do about it.

The industry will testify today that it intends to cooperate with the SEC and the NASD to improve the availability of corporate bond pricing information. I am gratified by that commitment. But actions speak louder than words. If their actions do not match these words, I can promise maximum pain and continued efforts on my part to get legislation enacted to mandate price transparency for the protection of investors.

I also commend you for looking into the issue of mutual fund fees. In the past, the Committee has conducted active oversight in this area, particularly as to investor complaints about 12b-1 fee abuses. I look forward to hearing what progress has been made on this front.

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