(WASHINGTON, DC) – After negotiators reached agreement on a bill designed to crack down on corporate crime, Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District -- Kansas) praised the measure and supported it during a vote in the House today.

"We are experiencing a crisis of confidence in America’s largest companies. This has devastated the markets and people’s retirement savings. It threatens the economy as a whole. These reforms will go far towards restoring our faith in the markets," Moore said.

The Senate had passed a much stronger set of reforms than the House had originally considered and it was uncertain if negotiators were going to be able to reach a speedy agreement. The reforms to be considered today are virtually identical to the strong Senate bill, which pleased Moore.

"The Senate passed a good bill that will crack down on corporate crime and hopefully prevent future Enrons and WorldComs. I’m glad that we had a chance to vote on those tough reforms," Moore said.

The House passed the reforms today and quick passage in the Senate was expected. The President has promised to sign the bill.

Reforms in the package include increased resources for the SEC to investigate corporate fraud and creation of an independent board that will ensure the independence and integrity of accounting firms. Also, company executives who defraud investors and the public would be subject to longer jail sentences and would have to turn over their ill-gotten profits to a special fund for investors.

Two important pension protection provisions were included in the bill. One would require companies to notify employees 30 days before a 401(k) "lockout," while the other would prevent CEOs from selling stock during periods their employees were unable to do the same.

"I’ve worked hard in Congress to expand opportunities for people to save for retirement. I’ve heard from many Kansans who were outraged to learn that CEOs were able to sell stock in some failing companies, while employees were locked in to falling investments," Moore said. "This will prevent that from happening."

Moore has experience cracking down on corporate crime. During his 12 years as Johnson County District Attorney, he successfully prosecuted a major oil producer for price fixing at gasoline pumps. And in March of this year, Moore proposed increasing funding for the SEC so it could hire investigators to root out corporate crime.

For more information on this or other issues, including an op-ed by Moore on the topic of corporate crime, please visit http://www.house.gov/moore/ .