Steve Stivers: “Chairman Crenshaw, I rise today to address a proposed amendment I was going to offer related to the Securities and…”

“Chairman Crenshaw, I rise today to address a proposed amendment I was going to offer related to the Securities and Exchange Commission's Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative, or the MCDC. This is a program that was announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission in March, which is related to the issuance of municipal securities. Under the MCDC, the SEC is asking municipal bond issuers and underwriters to self-report potential technical inconsistencies associated with the financial information recording practices of State and local governments. On its face, this seems to be reasonable. However, the States and localities that the SEC is trying to protect do not support this program and feel it is very punitive. In fact, the Government Finance Officers Association, or GFOA, which represents the Nation's State and local government finance directors, supports my proposed amendment because the MCDC initiative is both costly and unreliable for government issuers, taxpayers, and underwriters. In addition, the proposal changed rules midstream, applying one standard when the regulators' reporting apparatus was not even operable. I appreciate the chairman's time and his willingness to agree to work with me and the Financial Services Committee to find a resolution to this problem should the SEC not choose to curtail this program on their own. We want to make sure it is fair and equitable to our States and local municipalities.”