The US Securities and Exchange Commission is facing a budget squeeze from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which officials say is hampering efforts to improve its enforcement division.
Scott Garrett, a Republican from New Jersey who chairs the subcommittee overseeing the SEC and also sits on the budget committee, said he was not in favour of granting the regulator the big budget increase that it – and leading Democrats – say is necessary to fulfil its expanded duties and to invest in extra staff and new technology.
“We’re going to say the federal budget is under a time of constraint . . . so everybody is being asked to cut back,” he told the Financial Times. “The whole House has been asked to cut back by 5 per cent.”