Political Quotes

“I urge adoption of my amendment to fully fund the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of Wall Street's top sheriffs, at the President's request of $1.7 billion and at no cost to the taxpayer. The United States has the most vibrant capital markets, which are the envy of the world. Both large and small businesses looking to raise capital are able to do so with incredible efficiency and at minimal cost. Businesses are able to do this because their investors know that there are strong rules of the road and a regulator that will hold them accountable. The underlying bill, however, undermines the SEC by cutting nearly $300 million or nearly 20 percent from the requested level. Wall Street's cop is woefully underfunded already, and one need only look as far as its IT budget compared with just a few of the entities it oversees. In fiscal year 2013, the IT budgets of the six largest financial institutions equaled an amount more than 100 times that of the SEC. Although my Republican colleagues suggest that they are generously providing an increase, they use budget gimmicks to mask real cuts to IT infrastructure. The world's capital markets have grown at an ever-accelerating rate, and likewise, so has the SEC's responsibilities. Today, the SEC oversees 11,000 investment advisers, 10,000 mutual funds, 4,450 broker- dealers, the securities exchanges, clearing agencies, credit rating agencies, and other self-regulatory organizations.…”