Annual IBM Executive Forum

Westchester, New York

Good Evening,

I am pleased to address this forum of Black Executives. As a Member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the voice of the people of the 6th District of Queens, New York, I bring greetings.

This is a timely and very necessary gathering. As the nation continues to reel from the several accounting and corporate financial scandals, companies like IBM who operate with transparency and inclusiveness should be commended for their candor and ethics. I am proud to be here this evening with you. I am proud because this very group of Black executives will provide the support, encouragement, and the foundation for tomorrow's corporate leaders.

I would like to extend a particular welcome to the non-executive future leaders in attendance this evening. In fact, I would like for those of you in the audience to stand so that I may see who you are. Future leaders in corporate America, know that you will set examples world wide. IBM is a global technological leader and you will not only set an example for youth and people of color in America- you will set the global standard for corporate excellence, ethics and wealth. We are all here because some one believed in us. We are here because IBM has shown both confidence and competence in nurturing its minority executive corps.

You are here because someone recognized skill, professionalism and fortitude in your work. You are here because those who work with you have assessed your performance, ethics and skill as those of future leaders. Someone who works around you believes in you and had the faith and courage to say it and select you. Advance inclusion in this event is designed so that you will understand the company and develop mentoring relationships, enhance networking skills and soak up the energy of those who have gone before you.

You are here because you recognize the value of networking, training, and solid preparation. You are the high tech leaders of tomorrow. You will lead the charge of diversity in the corporate leadership arena. Your presence sends a message to the global community that you are serious and we are behind you!

The bar is not set for you. The expectations of you will always rise. You will be better, bigger and more formidable corporate targets than your predecessors, but you will have bigger, better and more formidable armor to succeed. Now that I have scared you to death- you may be seated!
Tonight, I have been asked to bring you a "Perspective from Capitol Hill," including the legislative agenda of the Congressional Black Caucus and my Committee activities.

First and foremost, it is critical to recognize that several major issues are the legislative engines at this moment and they drive all the activities on Capitol Hill. Homeland Security; Social Security Reform and Prescription drugs for seniors; Trade Promotion Authority; AIDS; Education funding; and, Election 2002 permeate every legislative initiative.

As Whip for the Congressional Black Caucus, I can state emphatically: "Election reform is the number one legislative priority for the 107th Congress. Make no mistake about it, our voices will never be heard on Capitol Hill if we are silenced at the ballot box. The CBC agenda is seeks to weave the unique and special interest of our constituents into the national debate on Capitol Hill. The education of our children has long been a legislative tenet for the CBC. We must demand the institutions and teachers entrusted with preparing our children for the high tech world of tomorrow possess both the resources and the competence to do the job. Economic wealth and home ownership form the single most important axis to changing the communities in which we live. The CBC has focused on economic development and restoring the small businesses in the nations community as the backbone of livable communities. We have made public our mission to increase and protect minority home ownership. As you may know- predatory lending is the most far reaching and all inclusive threat to minority home ownership and we need only look at the statistics on foreclosures and homelessness to recognize the impact. We must attack predatory lending every time it rears it's ugly head because even if you think your home is safe from it- you, your community and your family and friends are not immune to the ripple effects of it.

The rate of AIDS infections in the minority community has out paced the diseases effect on every other ethnic group in this country. The CBC is engaged in a long term Intensive campaign to ensure that the nation's health network respond with speed and adequacy to this threat. We are demanding that the proven disparities between the level of health care services available and provided for minorities match those of the majority.

Social Security reform, prescription drugs benefit and health resources to the medically under served will literally determine the future of the "greying of minorities in America." We seek to attach the minority interest to all legislative vehicles including the patient's bill of rights.

While each Member of the CBC develops a legislative agenda based on their constituent and their interests, we -as a collective- have identified those issues to be the guiding principles of our Caucus. We invite you- as the minority leaders of high tech America to join us making our agenda a part of your program. The issues championed by the CBC are your issues and they affect each and every one of you.

I am in the unique position of serving on both the House International relations Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. My vantage point provides a perspective that brings the domestic and the global together in ways most people do not experience until either tragedy hits the market, our global partners- through the international financial institutions- force our hand, or some major international calamity smacks us in the face.

International Relations Related Remarks for IBM Speech

As a Member of the International Relations Committee, I am a firm believer that in today's global economy, where the world is much smaller, where our two oceans cannot separate our way of life from events and crises in foreign lands, we as African Americans have to be active participants in debating the foreign policy actions of our government.

While the House International Relations Committee and its leadership have focused on public diplomacy, my Democratic colleagues and I- under the leadership of Congressman Tom Lantos (CA.) Have highlighted the global issues that affect out ability to expand US resources in problem solving and conflict resolution.

In addition, I also believe that as African-Americans it is clearly in our interests to be involved in foreign affairs and to think globally. Now, more then ever, we as a community must also see our selves as a world people. In the world we are not a minority, we are a part of the world's majority. More importantly, many of the national challenges we face as a community in areas like education, health, and economic development require solutions which have global dimensions.

The cycle of violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict deeply troubles me. The tensions between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir are a concern because of the potential for a nuclear conflict. The political stalemate in Haiti, only adds to the crushing poverty of the people living in one of the poorest nations in the world. The ongoing civil war in Colombia is worrisome, because of its proximity to our region and the spill over threats it poses to unsteady economic and political situations in neighboring Argentina, Venezuela and Brazil.

There is a sentiment outside the beltway that international relations has no real domestic constituency. I have always disagreed with that and its fallacy is proven out every day.

Make no mistake: The global conflicts that consume the headlines are also paralyzing emerging markets. The under developed impoverished regions of the world can ill afford the total and complete stagnation that civil strife embodies. These constant and long term conflicts render the nation and its people unable to progress.

As a major technical player on the world stage, IBM must take an interest in what happens around the globe and must clearly support peaceful resolution in the areas of conflict- as those are your emerging markets.

On Tuesday, the President will sign the just passed trade promotion authority bill into law. This measure, while providing him with negotiating authority, lacks some other protective measures which I would have preferred to see included. However, international trade is another component of the global relationship that should increase markets. It should increase the number of consumers available to the international marketplace as well as increase the number international vendors available to consumers.

Ladies and gentlemen, therein lies your international constituent. Almost every major international commercial venture has a United States connection. We must oversee that relationship. You must make your comments, suggestion, questions and concerns known! You must be a part of the international debate at a level that serves as both a monitor and a commentator of US foreign policy.

However from my vantage point in order for America to play a leadership role in the world, we are going to have to utilize all of our instruments of foreign diplomacy. We can't just rely on military power, we can't always act alone and we can't only think about our own national interests at the expense of taking into consideration the legitimate interests and concerns of others.

As commercial diplomats, you will find that you have more in common with the world's majority than differences. Those communities where you may walk on tours for business ventures are brothers, friends and ancestors. Capitalize on natural alliances as they are the fertile ground which links the international business chain.

Lastly, if America's leadership is going to help resolve some of the world's complex conflicts, we have to be perceived as fair, objective and impartial. To me, it is going to be difficult for America to help peacefully resolve conflicts in the world if people believe that we are favoring one side over an other . In addition, we can't expect to perpetually manage conflicts, without trying to address their root causes. We must always remember the law of unforseen circumstances, because unexpected things will happen in times of conflict.

As a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, I have the responsibility to support legislation that will ensure the safety and soundness of the American financial services industry. To support an environment to keep U.S. financial services companies competitive with foreign companies and to support fairness amongst the various types of financial services companies whether they be banks, thrifts, credit unions, insurance or securities without showing a bias toward any. Yet, as the Representative of the Sixth Congressional District in New York, I also have the responsibility of encouraging financial service companies to be actively involved in supporting community needs including housing, education, small business and general economic development. Above all I support and must safeguard consumer rights and protections.

Someone once said that these are the times that try men's souls. This is certainly the case for corporate America and the financial services industry. Not only have we had to deal with the destructive selfishness of senior executives engaged in criminal, yes CRIMINAL, behavior, it has sent negative ripples through the financial services industry as public investors lose confidence in the system and major financial institutions suffer as a result of their exposure to these collapsing companies. As I began to study the various issues that preceded Enron's journey from the seventh largest company in the United States to the biggest bankruptcy in the United States, only to be immediately dethroned by the Worldcom bankruptcy. To be immediately followed up by the Adelphi debacle -- one term seemed to sum up the lack of public safeguards in our current system, "conflict of interest".

As much as I enjoyed Michael Douglas performance as Gordon Gecko, I cannot concur with his conclusion. Greed is not good. Not for the American worker and not for the American shareholder.

However, corporate greed is not the only problem we are wrestling with here. There is a major breakdown in our system of checks and balances when it comes to publicly funded companies. The 1933 and 1934 Securities Acts were passed with the idea in mind that the investing public would need to be safeguarded from the potential of greedy, and/or dishonest corporate officers that may seek to mislead the public as to the true value of the company. These safeguards include having a certified public accounting firm audit the books of publicly traded companies to determine if the corporation has properly represented its true value. A flaw has developed in that system. Is the problem sloppy auditing procedures, corporate cunning to deceive the auditors, or a lack of independence on the part of the auditing firms? I am not yet sure of the answer, but it is may belief that we have begun to address the question with the passage of the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 that was passed in the house and senate, led by Senator Sarbanes and Rep. Oxley and was just signed into law by the president. . One of the major provisions of this act is to- Establishes the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to: (1) oversee the audit of public companies that are subject to the securities laws; (2) establish audit report standards and rules; and (3) investigate, inspect, and enforce compliance relating to registered public accounting firms, associated persons, and the obligations and liabilities of accountants. In this act are severe criminal penalties for corporate officers that seek to mislead the public. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

When I first ran for Congress in 1998, one of my campaign platforms was that economic development is the next civil rights movement. The point that I was making is that despite the advances made for minorities through the civil rights laws that demanded equal access for all Americans, no group of people can truly claim equality if they are not able to take advantage of America's economic prosperity. In order for this to be so, people must not only have the opportunity for economic advancement, but the knowledge of how to utilize it.

As most of us know, the biggest asset that most people will ever purchase in their lives is a home. Hownership is part of the American dream. The current rate of American homeownership is over 67%. However, this is not divided equally amongst the ethnic spectrum. The homeownership rate amongst whites is approximately 80% and only 48% amongst minorities. This is the reason why I took the lead on implementing the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's With Ownership Wealth, or W.O.W. initiative in New York City.

The purpose of the W.O.W. initiative is to develop a coordinated network of credit counselors, mortgage providers, and real estate brokers who will assist and support potential first time homebuyers. The network will teach them about maintaining good credit, securing the best loan product, working with a broker, and maintaining the home they have purchased.

Desperation to receive a positive response to a lending application, has made minority communities that much more susceptible to the extreme realm of sub-prime lending that we have termed "predatory lending". Predatory lending which is characterized by usurious interest rates, balloon payments, and excessive fees. The monthly or balloon payment becomes unmanageable to the point where the borrower cannot service the loan and eventually loses their property. I am one who understands that the sub-prime market has its place. If in our effort to eliminate predatory lending, we completely eliminate the sub-prime market, we will be eliminating the dreams of many Americans who are worthy but have less than perfect credit. However, we must define predatory lending, identify its practitioners, and remove them from the marketplace.

One of the best ways to affect the outcome of tomorrow is through training the youth of today. Young people who are financially sophisticated have a greater potential to build wealth through savings, investment and entrepreneurship. In order to make this a reality they have to be taught the numerous methods available to engage in the aforementioned as well as the importance of maintaining good credit.

It is my intention to give every high school student the opportunity to become financially sophisticated by developing financial literacy programs in every high school in the Sixth Congressional District. This past April, I joined with Visa to cut the ribbon on a financial literacy lab in Far Rockaway High School in my district. The lab is composed of computers, financial education software, and a curriculum that will teach our young people how to manage their money toward future wealth accumulation. It is my intention to seek multiple partners from the world's financial center right here in New York to sponsor financial literacy labs for all the remaining high schools in my district. An addendum to that program is a relationship with the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ for the high school students to learn about investing and working in high finance. The goal is to teach the youth of my community how to take Wall Street back to their streets. For as an infamous outlaw once responded when asked why he robbed banks, "because that is where the money is".

I hope my remarks have sparked your interest. I meant to provoke questions in your mind and a debate among us that will bring us closer to the union necessary to make a difference.

I am open to questions about the points I have raised in my remarks and hope you are open to the dialogue which must follow.

Thank you