On top of asking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to turn over financial records on the once high-flying Enron Corp., two House panels have fired off letters to Chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay and former CFO Andrew S. Fastow seeking mounds of financial information related to the off-balance sheet entities that sparked the free-fall in the energy trader’s stock, and further interviews with key players who may possess critical information about the corporation’s financial collapse.

In a Dec. 7 letter to Fastow’s attorney, Reps. W.J. “Billy” Tauzin (R-LA), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and James C. Greenwood (R-PA), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, requested that the former Enron executive “make yourself available” for a committee staff interview by no later than Dec. 21, and to turn over sought-after documents by Dec. 14.

Lay meanwhile has not responded to an invitation by two subcommittees of the House Financial Committee to testify today in an investigation of accounting practices by the company and Arthur Andersen, and potential securities law violations, and Enron’s handling of its employees’ 401(k) retirement investment plans. Officials of Andersen and the Securities and Exchange Commission have agreed to testify. The committee has the power to subpoena witnesses if it deems necessary.

Fastow was ousted from Enron in early November amid allegations that he created and benefited from the off-balance sheet transactions that ultimately led to the company filing for bankruptcy this month. The transactions currently are under investigation by the SEC.

The interview with Fastow is in preparation for a planned House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing early next year into potential irregularities that resulted in the downfall of Enron, the laying off of thousands of employees, and the depletion of employee pension benefits.

“If you are unable to travel to Washington, DC, the committee staff is willing to travel to Houston, TX, or another specified location,” the letter said. Tauzin’s committee has not, however, asked to meet with Jeff Skilling, Enron’s former president and CEO who resigned in August.

In the letter to Lay, the House energy panel asked to meet by Dec. 21 with Enron employees Rick Causey, Steve Kane and Rick Buy, as well as with members of Enron’s Audit and Compliance Committee: Robert Jaedicke, Paulo Ferrz Pereira, John Wakeham and Wendy Gramm. The letter did not indicate why House committee staff members were focusing on these employees. It also set Dec. 14 as the deadline for Enron to supply requested financial documents.

Among the financial information being sought, in preparation for the interviews and the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subsequent hearing of Enron, are:

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