This week, Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, and Carolyn Maloney, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises, led 47 colleagues in urging additional funding for the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for fiscal year 2017.

In a letter to the House Appropriations Committee, the Members requested $1.78 billion for the SEC next year, which would be an 11 percent increase from its current amount. That level reflects the President’s budget request, which also called for doubling the Commission’s budget by fiscal 2021.

“We are extremely concerned that the Commission’s resources are insufficient to keep pace with the ever-expanding and increasingly complex U.S. and global capital markets,” the letter stated.

The SEC plays a critical role both protecting investors and promoting confidence in the nation’s capital markets that millions of Americans rely on to save for their futures and grow their businesses. The letter requests additional funding so the Commission can properly oversee market participants; implement the Dodd-Frank Act, Jumpstart our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), and provisions of the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST); hire additional staff for oversight and enforcement; and modernize its technology systems. The letter also notes that funding for the SEC is entirely offset by a small fee on securities transactions, and does not increase the debt or deficit.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

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