|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Bush Orders Review of Pension Rules
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush, fearing political fallout over an energy corporation whose collapse cost employees millions of dollars in savings, ordered his economic team Thursday to review pension rules that could put other workers and pensioners at risk. The politically charged action came one day after the Justice Department opened an investigation into Texas-based Enron Corp., an energy company closely tied to Bush and other administration officials. Enron's top officials, including Kenneth L. Lay, the chief executive officer, are financial supporters of Bush. Lay was in contact with top administration officials while his company was collapsing last fall, the White House disclosed Thursday. Bush said the Enron case shed light on potential problems in the nation's pension system. ``One of the things that we're deeply concerned about is that there has been a wave of bankruptcies that have caused many workers to lose their pensions,'' he said. A senior Bush adviser said the president wants to protect workers' pensions as well as inoculate himself against mounting criticism for his administration's association with Lay and Enron. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer cautioned Congress against ``partisan witch hunts, endless investigations or fishing expeditions'' into GOP ties to Enron. ``Enron gave thousands of dollars to Democrats,'' he said. The spokesman said Bush did not see the need for an independent prosecutor to take over the Justice Department inquiry. Bush was put on the defense as well. ``I have never discussed with Mr. Lay the financial problems of the company,'' the president told reporters after his Oval Office announcement. He had been asked if he had discussed the issue with Lay or any other company official. Lay contacted Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Commerce Secretary Don Evans last fall to express concerns about his firm's financial situation and bond ratings, Fleischer said. The pair decided not to take action, he said. Bush said he last saw Lay at a fund-raiser in the spring, and said Lay also had attended a White House meeting with business leaders early in his term. ``I have not met with him personally,'' Bush said, apparently referring to his time as president. The president said he first met Lay in 1994, when the businessman worked for Democratic Gov. Ann Richards. ``Ken Lay is a supporter,'' Bush said. ``What anybody is going to find is that this administration is going to fully investigate issues such as the Enron bankruptcy to make sure we learn from the past.'' O'Neill, other Cabinet agencies and economic advisers will review laws and regulations to determine if they can be tightened to protect worker pension plans. A senior official involved in discussions on the issue said the Justice Department will determine whether Enron broke any laws and the Treasury Department will study whether Enron's conduct, although potentially legal, exposed loopholes in the system. Several civil lawsuits have been filed against current and former Enron executives and directors and its accounting firm by Enron employees, retirees and investors who lost billions of dollars when Enron's stock collapsed this year. Investors were unable to pull their money out of Enron stocks while the company was collapsing. Lay and other Enron officials met six times with Vice President Dick Cheney or his aides last year, before and after the release of the administration's energy plan. Lay and his company have been leading contributors to Bush as well as to a long list of Democratic and Republican candidates. The Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan watchdog agency in Washington, says Enron's executives contributed nearly $800,000 to Bush, members of Congress and the two national political parties from 1999 to 2001. |
