Washington ? The leader of the Republican-controlled House spoke favorably Thursday of measures adopted by the Senate to create stiff penalties for corporate fraud.

Senators also weighed strengthening the powers of federal securities regulators to go after executives who violate the law.

John McCain, R-Ariz., implored his Senate colleagues to adopt his proposal requiring companies to count executives’ stock options as an expense against earnings. Otherwise, investors will continue to get misleading information on companies’ true financial performance, McCain said on the Senate floor.

The debate over stock options has taken on new urgency since the collapse of Enron in December and the subsequent string of accounting scandals at big corporations. Executives at Enron and other big companies reaped millions of dollars in profits by cashing in their options before the companies’ share price plunged. By contrast, many ordinary Enron employees who had heavily invested in company stock lost their retirement savings.

Stock options have been “terribly abused by the same people” that a unified Senate targeted in adopting the new criminal penalties on Wednesday, McCain said.

The sanctions, including 10-year prison terms for securities fraud, were added to an accounting oversight bill inching toward passage amid a crisis of investor confidence. They include, and go beyond, proposals made by President Bush in a speech Tuesday on corporate responsibility.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., told reporters Thursday the House was “looking at what the Senate does” with the legislation. “I think they have acted responsibly so far. We’ll have to see what the rest of the amendments are on their bill,” he said.

An accounting oversight bill passed by the House in April is considered weaker than the Senate version by consumer groups and some Democrats and does not contain the new penalties against corporate fraud and executives who deceive investors. After the Senate passes its bill, it will have to be reconciled with the House version by a committee of lawmakers from both chambers.

Hastert acknowledged that the Senate measure went further than the House package, but added, “I support it so far. … We certainly know more now than we did in April when we passed that bill.”