Shelby brings Alabama to national forefront
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 5, 2003
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby is bringing Alabama into the national forefront, again.
The Alabama Republican began his term as chairman of the U.S. Senate’s
banking committee on Wednesday, ending his eight-year term as chairman of the
intelligence committee.
And, in his first day on the job, Shelby bravely led the confirmation hearing
for
William H. Donaldson, the man tapped by President George W. Bush to replace
Harvey Pitt at the helm of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It’s an important position, made even more important by the national
attention on the SEC in the wake of revelation of corporate fraud and by Pitts’ resignation.
Whomever the Senate committee backs must be ready to
withstand both the public scrutiny and the responsibility of restoring
confidence and credibility to the SEC.
Shelby, for his part, seems committed the task at hand. He seems to
understand the importance of his committee's role - an understanding that comes from his 17 years on the committee.
Now, Americans and Alabamians are looking for Shelby to help lead an effort
to restore faith in the nation’s corporate leaders. We seek a sense of
integrity; a confidence that insider trading and corporate scandals will be
diligently sought out and punished; that the nation’s free enterprise system
has checks and balances that keep greed in check.
We applaud Shelby’s willingness to accept this leadership and responsibility
and we look forward to his proactive role in this committee.