Washington Week Show - WW 4202
Washington Week Show - WW 4202- "Open"
Show host Gwen Ifill opens program. Composite footage (unclean) with Washington Week title and text: corporate sign for MCI Worldcom; workers seated at computers; NYSE, stock brokers on trading floor; CEOs being sworn in, taking oath at hearing; U.S. President George W. Bush waving, exiting helicopter on White House lawn, saluting; stacks of $50 dollar bills on printing press; Governor's meeting.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202- "Corporate Fraud"
Show host Gwen Ifill introduces segment on corporate scandals and corporate responsibility. U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) saying, "The circle of culprits, witting and unwitting, include not only morally challenged executives, compromised auditors, negligent institutional investors and securities analysts, uninformed or indifferent directors, but inattentive government leaders of both parties, business journalists that have grown too comfortable on their beat to look beyond a corporation’s annual report to discern the soundness of management practices." U.S. President George W. Bush saying, "All of investment is an act of faith, and faith is earned by integrity. In the long run, there is no capitalism without conscience, there is no wealth without character."
Washington Week Show - WW 4202- "Corporate Fraud"
Show host Gwen Ifill continues to introduce segment on corporate scandals and corporate responsibility. Jeanne Cummings of The Wall Street Journal discusses President George W. Bush’s Wall Street speech and his handling of corporate scandals; how the White House’s political message and policy package did not sync up with one another. Cummings discusses how President Bush originally stated he was going to be tough and put people in jail for corporate corruption, then revealed a retrained policy package, thus disappointing investors. Jeffrey Birnbaum of Fortune Magazine discusses what has been the worst week for the stock market since after 9/11. Birnbaum discusses recent market drops since President Bush’s speech regarding corporate responsibility; discussion of the Dow Jones dropping. Birnbaum discusses falling levels of consumer confidence, says the only people pleased with President Bush’s speech were business organizations and those are the one he should not be pleasing.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202 - "Corporate Fraud"
Gloria Borger of U.S. News & World Report discusses the actions Congress is taking with legislation dealing with corporate fraud. Borger discusses the criminalizing of corporate fraud and jail sentences for securities fraud.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202 - "Corporate Fraud"
Jeanne Cummings of The Wall Street Journal continues discussion of the government’s handling of corporate fraud. Mention of President George W. Bush’s business history. Cummings discusses President Bush’s criticism of CEOs and how difficult it is for him to reign in Senate reformers when there is a general call for those guilty of corporate fraud to go to jail. Cummings discusses the White House message of a new moral authority for corporate America. Mention of the Harkin stock sale and Halliburton investigation. Gloria Borger of U.S. News & World Report discusses Congress outlawing the kind of loan President Bush received while on the Harkin board. Jeffrey Birnbaum of Fortune Magazine discusses the type of loan Bush received in the 1980s and how they have changed since.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202 - "Corporate Fraud"
Jeffrey Birnbaum of Fortune Magazine discusses Vice President Dick Cheney’s time as Halliburton CEO in 1998, changes made to their accounting system. Birnbaum discusses the SEC’s investigation of Halliburton. Jeanne Cummings of The Wall Street Journal discusses the SEC’s investigation of the Harkin stock sales and the SEC’s findings that President Bush did nothing wrong. Cummings discusses the scrutiny the SEC will be under in the Halliburton investigation.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202- "Corporate Fraud"
Gloria Borger of U.S. News & World Report transitions discussion from corporate fraud to the 2002 elections. Mention of Democrats claiming Republicans are closely tied to Big Business. Show host Gwen Ifill brings up the possibility of a new amendment creating statutes for securities fraud. Borger says President George W. Bush will sign any bill the current Senate Conference Committee comes up with. Jeffrey Birnbaum of Fortune Magazine says democrats intend to make corporate fraud a big issue in the 2002 elections. Birnbaum discusses Sen. Dick Gephardt and the argument against Social Security privatization. Birnbaum discusses the concept of shared political responsibility if an accounting bill passes. Ifill brings up the possibility Republicans will lose Big Business support if regulations are passed. Birnbaum discusses President Bush’s mistake pleasing big business leaders with his Wall Street speech. Mention of Bill Clinton remarks on Sister Souljah.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202- "Corporate Fraud"
Jeanne Cummings of The Wall Street Journal discusses President George W. Bush’s Wall Street speech, says the White House was not expecting it to please business leaders. Show host Gwen Ifill asks Cummings what happened with the speech. Cummings says the Bush administration was hesitant to unleash the government on corporations. Jeffrey Birnbaum of Fortune Magazine discusses the economy and consumer confidence, mentions a better than expected retail sales report. Ifill asks Birnbaum why consumer confidence numbers keep declining if retail sales are rising. Birnbaum discusses the risk of a “double-dip” recession and the fact that retail sales can eventually join the decline in consumer confidence. Birnbaum briefly discusses unemployment.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202- "Corporate Fraud"
Gloria Borger of U.S. News & World report discusses the Bush administration and GOP worries over the economy. Show host Gwen Ifill brings up recent poll numbers suggesting President George W. Bush’s approval rating with the economy is 50 percent. Ifill asks Borger if Republicans feel President Bush left them on their own when he tried to take on the corporations. Borger discusses how Republicans are getting ahead of President Bush on the issue of corporate fraud. Borger discusses the issue of corporate fraud for rural election in the south, how it could help Democrats. Jeanne Cummings of The Wall Street Journal discusses the earlier Enron scandal, the House passing President Bush’s version of the Enron bill. Cummings discusses how President Bush has left the House to stand alone with the weakest corporate fraud bill. Jeffrey Birnbaum of Fortune Magazine discusses Gallup Poll findings suggesting 76 percent of Americans believe Big Business has too much influence on Republican politics, that 70% of Americans who vote own stock.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202 - "Corporate Fraud"
Gloria Borger of U.S. News & World Report discusses who Democrats and Republicans are blaming for corporate fraud. Democrats blame President George W. Bush due to his close ties with corporate America, and Republicans blame former President Bill Clinton for influencing a decade of lies. Jeanne Cummings of Wall Street Journal briefly mentions the Bush administration's worries over small investors.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202- "Governors Meeting"
Show host Gwen Ifill introduces segment on National Governors Association meeting. Brief split-screen with Gwen Ifill in studio and Dan Balz of The Washington Post via satellite in Boise, ID, where the National Governors Association meeting is taking place. Dan Balz discusses the fiscal situations of state Governors in the current recession; the volatile political situation for State Governors, with 36 states holding Governor elections in the fall; the fall-off in state revenues due to stock market volatility, the drop in income tax revenues, and state budget deficits. Dan Balz discusses various means states are using to fix their budgets. Mention of reserve funds, tobacco settlement money, program freezes, across-the-board budget cuts, and raising cigarette taxes. Ifill asks Balz how the Governors are reacting to the corporate fraud and responsibility debate in Washington. Balz says that the real question for Governors is the economy.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202- "Governors Meeting"
Gloria Borger of U.S. News & World Report asks Dan Balz of The Washington Post (via satellite) if state Governors are discussing raising state taxes to make up for budget shortfalls. Balz says there have been no discussion of taxes yet. Balz discusses state spending patterns that are higher than expected state revenues. Brief mention of the possibility of raising taxes, cutting government programs. Jeffrey Birnbaum of Fortune Magazine asks Balz if the Governors foresee an economic recovery. Balz says even though Governors have been told that an economic recovery is around the corner, state revenues are continuing to decline, mentions the 1991 recession and discusses capital gains revenues. Jeanne Cummings of The Wall Street Journal asks Balz how the economy is affecting the political environment for Governors. Balz discusses low approval rating for Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack due to state budget; how the economy has not only effected upcoming elections for GOP Governors and candidates, but has affected Democratic Governors and candidates as well. Balz signs off.
Washington Week Show - WW 4202 - "Show Close"
Show host Gwen Ifill closes program. End credits.