1998年美国国会听证会
情报和安全


BLILEY DELIVERS STATEMENT ON ANTI-BRIBERY LEGISLATION Finance Subcommittee Hearing on Bliley-Oxley Bill WASHINGTON (July 15) -- House Commerce Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Tom Bliley (R-VA) is today scheduled to deliver the following statement at a House Commerce Finance and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 4353, the International Anti-Bribery and Fair Competition Act of 1998: "Mr. Chairman, I would like to commend you for holding this important hearing. You have been a leader on international issues in general and a strong advocate for free trade in particular. The legislation which you and I have cosponsored, and which the Committee is considering today, is designed to open markets overseas by implementing an international convention which I think we both hope will go a long way toward promoting transparency and fair competition. "Our legislation, the International Anti-Bribery and Fair Competition Act of 1998, contains the changes to our laws necessary to implement the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials. "I believe that this Convention will help fight bribery and level the playing field for American companies. I congratulate our government officials, and Secretary Daley in particular, for their role in negotiating this important agreement. It has been achieved as a result of the hard work of officials in both Republican and Democratic Administrations, and was worth the wait. "Our nation already has one of the strongest anti-bribery laws in the world. American business claims that this puts them at a disadvantage since other nations do not have strong laws against bribery. Some have even made it tax deductible! "The critical issue with respect to the Convention is convincing other nations to put their no-longer tax deductible money where there mouth is. "It is my understanding that the Administration believes that we need to lead the way in order to get others to follow. To date, only Bulgaria has ratified the Convention and even they have not completed the process by depositing their documents with the OECD. "It was my hope in introducing this legislation that we will be taking an important step forward in creating a fairer and more open international business environment. American business and workers, the most competitive and productive in the world, will be the biggest beneficiaries of fair and open competition. Still, we will need to look carefully to make sure other nations live up to their obligations. That is why we have added a reporting requirement to the legislation. Our bill will require the Administration to report annually, beginning on July 1 of next year, on other nations' implementation and enforcement efforts. "Thus the bill before us today eliminates barriers to competition resulting from both foreign corruption as well as from unfair and inappropriate privileges and immunities. "American companies have been at a disadvantage for far too long due to lax bribery laws in other nations. We need to work to bring other nations up to an equal standard with our own. "Merit, not bribery, should determine who wins business and the resulting jobs for American workers. Overseas contracts should go to the best competitors, not the biggest bribers. "I would like to thank our witnesses for appearing here today and appreciate the time and effort they and their colleagues have devoted to this vital issue." (end text)