Saying that House Republicans are short-changing the Securities and Exchange Commission, Senate Democrats called on House appropriators to boost its funding to help combat financial crime and avert another financial crisis.
Democratic Sens. Richard Durbin of Illinois, Charles Schumer of New York, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Jack Reed of Rhode Island wrote in a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) that legislation should “fully fund the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at a level that will allow it to carry out its core mission and fully implement its expanded responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,” which gave the commission more oversight of the financial sector last year.
The House Appropriations Committee last week approved by a 27-21 vote the spending measure that would set aside $1.2 billion for the SEC in fiscal 2012. The amount is the same sum allocated to the commission in fiscal 2011 and $222 million less than President Barack Obama’s request.
“With our markets and economy still struggling to recover from the worst financial crisis in 80 years, this is hardly the time to handcuff the primary cop on the beat in our financial markets,” the Democratic senators wrote in their letter. “Safe, orderly markets are a key ingredient in our economic recovery.”
Rogers last week defended the spending bill, saying it “makes smart, sensible reductions in nearly all areas.”
“Where necessary, we have cut funding for ineffective and unproven programs, and have made strides to prevent taxpayer dollars from slipping through the cracks, lost to redundant or wasteful programs,” Rogers said in a statement.
