Justice Department Should Publish Corporate Crime Data
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) today introduced the Corporate Crime Database Act, which would direct the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) to publish a public database of corporate lawbreaking and to release annual reports on corporate crime. Public Citizen joined 34 groups in urging Congress to pass the bill. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“Corporate crime sickens consumers, rips off investors, and robs workers of their livelihoods. It pollutes our environment, exploits our private data, and corrupts our government. It crashes planes, smashes automobiles, and devastates struggling communities.
“The runaway consequences of rogue corporations are nothing short of catastrophic – yet more than four decades have passed since the DOJ has released any kind of comprehensive report on corporate crime. Enough is enough.
“The Corporate Crime Database Act will bring transparency to the corporate crime crisis so that the DOJ and other law enforcement agencies can better reckon with this greed-driven menace. That data will help the public hold these agencies accountable if enforcement efforts fall short.”