But do you think that it should be on the Standard & Poor's and Moody's and those who rate risk, if they lower their risk on a certain entity?
Jim Bunning
The Public Record
Jim Bunning is a former United States Senator from Kentucky, serving from 1999 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Bunning was known for his strong conservative positions and advocacy for fiscal responsibility. Before his political career, he was a professional baseball player, notably a pitcher in Major League Baseball, where he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. Bunning's tenure in the Senate included a focus on issues such as energy policy and workers' compensation reform, often criticizing the Department of Energy's handling of compensation programs for workers.
My problem is, I don't know if we can afford to find the brains that we need to hire to get a hold of this problem.
The fear I have is a group of hedge funds or investment advisers getting together, colluding, shorting individual stocks for their own purpose.
For all the firms, if we had a systemic risk regulator and that regulator came to you and told you to get out of some positions, how would you react?
To address systemic risk and fraud, do you think the SEC is better off focusing on resources on constant supervision and examination or kind of after-the-fact enforcement?
Success is rewarded and failure is punished. Pay is based on performance over time and not just in the short run.
I believe the SEC, with access to more information from market participants, is fully capable of providing appropriate oversight.
In so doing, we may just double and triple the problem, so I want you to be aware that that is why we are hesitant.
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Bunning, and other Members of the Committee, I thank you for the opportunity to testify today.