FOX Business Chief Correspondent Charlie Gasparino reacts to Congress cheering on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on ‘Cavuto: Coast to Coast.’
Lawmakers want the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be required to testify on Capitol Hill every year.
That’s according to Senate Republicans, who introduced new legislation Tuesday that would expand oversight of provisions mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act, and mandate that it appear twice a year before Congress to increase “transparency and accountability.”
The legislation, titled the Empowering Main Street in America Act, was introduced hours before the announcement that a hearing scheduled for Wednesday before the Senate Banking Committee with current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has been postponed.
The postponement of the hearing comes as Gensler appeared separately Tuesday on Capitol Hill before the House Finance Committee, where the chairman drew criticism from both sides of the aisle.
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Senate Banking Committee member Tim Scott, R-SC, dismissed the postponement in a statement to FOX Business, noting, “The last-minute withdrawal while testifying before the House underscores what is wrong with the SEC under Gensler’s leadership.”
Scott went on to criticize Gensler’s record at the Commission, declaring that Gensler’s approach during his three-year tenure has been harmful to businesses.
Gary Gensler, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), testifies during the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on “Oversight of the US Securities and Exchange Commission” on September 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. ((Photo by BILL CLARK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
“Since SEC Chairman Gensler’s agenda is putting the US economy at risk – burying businesses in paper, reducing liquidity, and harming American retirees – the Senate Banking Committee deserves an opportunity to hold him accountable for his actions,” the South Carolina senator added. .
The postponement ended up being a decision made in consultation with Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, D-OH, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. The new time and date will be decided soon, according to a message on the Banking Committee’s website.
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A separate source in the Senate said the reason for the postponement was due to scheduling issues.
Bank regulators are currently required by law to testify before Congress, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act enacted after the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The SEC is not included under those parameters, however.
Scott and nine other Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee said they would like to see that change.
Members of parliament said their proposed legislation would return the SEC “to its primary focus on ensuring that the engines of the US capital markets system are aligned to foster the next chapter of American self-determination, instead of imposing new and burdensome barriers that reduce opportunity, drive new investors out of the markets, and promote innovation and competition .”
Republicans continue to say that more oversight is necessary for the watchdog, so that it can fulfill its three-pronged mission of facilitating capital formation, protecting investors, and maintaining fair, orderly and efficient markets.
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That is not possible, however, the law says, saying the agency has created a “hostile regulatory environment” for investors and businesses.
“This is exactly why we need to pass my Empowering America’s Highway Act to authorize the SEC Chairman to testify every year,” Scott concluded on FOX Business.
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