As a Congressman, Cox was the author of the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, a bill that severely limited the rights of investors to sue for securities fraud. Many believe that the act’s passage was a key factor in creating the recent wave of corporate scandals because it made executives, accountants, and others less accountable for their actions. Cox has also been a key player in the continued attempt to keep open the stock options loophole, which allows companies to artificially inflate their numbers by not counting stock option compensation on their balance sheets.

Cox has an 87 percent lifetime legislative rating from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been fighting the SEC’s attempts to regulate corporate excess (the rating means that he has voted with the Chamber 87 percent of the time during his legislative career). Earlier this year, Cox co-sponsored a class-action lawsuit bill that made it harder for victims of corporate wrongdoing to sue, a top priority of the Chamber.

Please tell Senators, who will be responsible for confirming Cox as new SEC chairman, that if they care about doing what’s good for the economy, that they should oppose Cox as Donaldson’s replacement. As the recent wave of scandal’s demonstrated, capital markets need good regulation in order to protect shareholders. Appointing Christopher Cox and his deregulatory ideology to head the SEC is a recipe for another wave of Enrons.

To contact your senators - www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm

To contact your representative - www.house.gov/writerep