Carolyn Maloney: “I rise in strong support of accountability and oversight, and I rise in strong support of the Frank amendment, which…”

“I rise in strong support of accountability and oversight, and I rise in strong support of the Frank amendment, which would help give tools to the SEC so that they could better enforce the laws of this country. Madam Chair, our Republican colleagues have proposed that the SEC's budget should be cut back to roughly 2008 levels; but I can hardly imagine that anyone in this body on either side of the aisle is pleased at the level of oversight that was performed by the SEC in 2008, the year the economy cratered under the Bush administration. According to the SEC Inspector General, the Republican proposal would force the agency to let go 600 staff right when we need more activity by the SEC in oversight. Just as our colleagues across the aisle are calling for more accountability, they would cripple one of the key agencies that holds people in a key sector accountable. The SEC's budget for all of 2010 is equal to just a small fraction of the bonus pool for just one major investment bank or hedge fund in the financial sector that they are charged with overseeing. It is a small fraction of what they are charged to oversee. The total loss of household wealth as a result of this Great Recession has been estimated at approximately $14 trillion. It was a financial disaster that did not have to happen. A lack of adequate oversight and regulation were major contributing factors.”