House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight Scrutinizes SEC's Agenda and Senior Staff

Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, criticized the SEC's "unprecedented" volume of rulemakings and its "slow and limited" response in providing related information to Congress.

At an oversight hearing, Mr. Huizenga questioned SEC General Counsel Megan Barbero for "continu[ing] to miss deadlines, offering no accommodations, blaming staff shortages, budget deficiencies, and bureaucratic obstacles." He argued that the SEC has been an "outlier" in comparison to other regulators, such as the Federal Reserve Board and the FDIC which, following the recent bank failures, were "perfectly capable of providing important documents, testimony, and access to documents." In submitted testimony, Ms. Barbero responded to the criticism, stating: "my team, along with staff from the Commission’s Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, is working diligently to respond to the Committee’s requests."

The Subcommittee on Oversight also examined the continued implications of issues raised in the Supreme Court's recent ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, which reaffirmed the position that a government agency’s rulemaking authority is "not unlimited."

At a separate hearing on SEC oversight held by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, the following legislative proposals were considered:

• H.R. ____, "To require the Securities and Exchange Commission to finish implementation of the Market Data Infrastructure Rule before finalizing any additional NMS proposed regulations, and for other purpose." The proposal would also require the SEC to conduct a study on whether additional regulatory action is necessary following the implementation of the MDI Rule.

• H.R. ____, "SEC Regulatory Accountability Act." The proposal would require the SEC to (i) determine whether the benefits of proposed rulemakings outweigh any associated costs by assessing the problems the proposals would address, (ii) periodically review existing rules and (iii) report on the economic impact of "major regulations."