Enron: A Select Chronology of Congressional, Corporate, and Governmental Activities

Publication Date: March 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Business

Type:

Abstract:

Enron Corporation, which had more than $49 billion in total assets for 2001 and was listed as the seventh largest U.S. corporation (ranked by revenues in 2000) by Fortune magazine , filed for Chapter 11 reorganization protection on December 2, 2001. The Houston-based corporation and 13 affiliated entities filing for bankruptcy provoked intense media and congressional interest and questions involving the financial markets, securities and auditing firms, and corporate management and insurance and pension policies.

The federal government is examining Enron's corporate activities. Investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have commenced. Since December 2001, Congress has held numerous hearings on issues surrounding the Enron collapse, and additional hearings are scheduled. Numerous state and local governments have initiated legal proceedings against Enron and its affiliated entities.

This report is a chronology of select major corporate and federal government events that are relevant to the collapse of Enron. Chronology entries were compiled from congressional, corporate, and standard news sources. Web sites are provided when appropriate and available. This report will be updated as events warrant.