Gensler Testifies on Capitol Hill in Support of Appropriations Requests

On June 13, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler testified in front of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Service and General Government (FSGG). The hearing, a routine part of the annual appropriations process, focused on the Commission’s rulemaking efforts, enforcement actions, and the risk technological change poses for financial markets. In his remarks, Chair Gensler noted how the number of entities and registered investments advisers has grown over the past 20 years. He noted the Commission currently oversees “approximately 40,000 entities—including more than 13,000 registered funds, more than 15,400 investment advisers, more than 3,300 broker-dealers, 24 national securities exchanges, 103 alternative trading systems, 10 credit rating agencies, 33 self-regulatory organizations (SROs), and six active registered clearing agencies, among other external entities.” While discussing the impact technology has had on financial markets and the complexity of regulating, Gensler emphasized that “the SEC is cutting its IT program by about a quarter this fiscal year because of budget pressures.”

As all spending bills must begin in the House, earlier in June the House Appropriations Committee advanced the FSGG appropriations bill by a vote of 33-24 along party lines. The bill would cut over $400 million dollars from Gensler’s requested budget of $2.44 billion and prohibit funds to be used to implement the SEC’s climate disclosure rule.

Click here to read Chair Gensler’s written testimony.