Securities and Exchange Commissioner (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler supported the White House’s budget boost request for the stock market watchdog. But Mr. Gensler warned that the funds appropriated were tens of millions of dollars less than what his federal agency originally requested for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Senate Appropriations Committee appropriated $2.4 billion to the SEC. This was $194 million more than fiscal year 2023 but nearly $73 million less than Mr. Gensler’s initial proposal. This, Mr. Gensler told lawmakers, would prevent the SEC from keeping up with the various market challenges present today.
During the July 19 Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Mr. Gensler explained that the SEC’s fiscal year 2024 request would ensure the agency’s Examinations Division personnel would increase to 1,144 full-time examiners. While the organization is 3 percent larger than it was in 2017, Mr. Gensler purported that the financial markets have grown exponentially in this span….