SEC And CFTC Leaders Defend Budget Requests

In testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, SEC Chair Jay Clayton and CFTC Acting Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo defended their agencies' respective budget requests for fiscal year 2018.

The SEC requested a $1.602 billion budget, which Mr. Clayton characterized as "essentially the same as [the SEC's] FY 2017 appropriation." Mr. Clayton detailed the following budgetary goals:

• Agency management: improving internal operations by evaluating staff management and data utilization.
• Protecting investors: (i) providing adequate support for the enforcement division in order to prevent misconduct and hold bad actors accountable, and (ii) tightening the focus on examinations in order to evaluate the fitness and ability of market participants.