All congress articles – Page 7
-
Blog
Senate Democrats want SEC fraud investigations in Puerto Rico
A coalition of top Senate Democrats has asked the SEC “to investigate potential fraud and illegal conduct” that may have contributed to Puerto Rico’s ongoing debt crisis. The group also called on SEC Chair Mary Jo White to “be a cop on the beat of Wall Street.” Joe Mont reports.
-
ArticleSEC faces a bipartisan beat-down in Congress
Yes, there is one thing that still inspires bipartisanship in Congress: attacking the Securities and Exchange Commission. That was revealed in recent days, says CW’s Joe Mont, with proposed legislative constraints on its rulemaking powers and a table-pounding attack on its disclosure effectiveness initiative from Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (above ...
-
Blog
Sen. Warren, Chair White and the circle of disappointment
At a hearing this week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren tried to hang her "disappointment" on SEC Chair Mary Jo White for the third time in 12 months. This time, to Sen. Warren's surprise, Chair White was ready to fight disappointment with disappointment.
-
Blog
Flurry of bills and proposals seek regulatory reform
With the arrival of summer, battles over the U.S. regulatory regime are heating up. Earlier his month, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) unveiled a plan “to replace the Dodd-Frank Act.” It is now supplemented by a slate of “economic growth bills” approved by the Financial Services Committee ...
-
Blog
Cato Institute paper proposes JOBS Act improvements
On the same day the SEC announced it had completed the remaining workload on JOBS Act mandates, conservative think tank the CATO Institute, in an unrelated effort, offered its thoughts on how the legislation is meeting capital formation goals and ways it could be improved. Joe Mont reports.
-
Article
SEC nominees in the firing line at Senate hearing
During a nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on March 15, President Obama’s picks to fill vacancies on the Securities and Exchange Commission—Republican Hester Peirce and Democrat Lisa Fairfax—endured more than two hours of questioning that ranged from cordial to confrontational. Enforcing individual liability, ensuring cost-effective rulemaking, and the ...
-
Blog
House advances controversial slate of SEC rule changes
A legislative package, recently passed by the House of Representatives, is drawing fire from Democrats and the White House. The bills, bundled as the Capital Markets Improvement Act of 2016, include changes to current SEC rules pertaining to company-issued employee stock, broker-dealer research reports, M&A brokers, and the use of ...
-
Blog
House Passes Regulation-Cutting SCRUB Act
Federal legislation that seeks to eliminate outdated and duplicative regulations was passed in the House of Representatives last week. The Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act, which awaits a Senate vote, would establish a bipartisan commission to review existing federal regulations and identify those that ...
-
Blog
Bill Requires Disclosure of Board’s Cyber-Security Expertise
Security experts have long pressured companies to bring cyber-security expertise onto their boards. U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have introduced legislation known as the Cyber-security Disclosure Act of 2015 that could apply even more pressure. If passed, publicly traded companies would be required to disclose to ...
-
Blog
FASB, Congressman Dispute Lease Standard’s Economic Effect
Image: FASB is pressing on with its planned fourth-quarter release of the final new accounting standard on leasing despite House Financial Services Committee member Brad Sherman’s (left) plea to FASB Chairman Russ Golden to consider analysis that says the standard will exact a heavy toll on the U.S. economy. Golden ...
-
Blog
Legislation Seeks Curbs on Regulatory 'Revolving Door'
Newly proposed legislation, the Financial Services Conflict of Interest Act addresses the so-called “revolving door” that results when regulators draw talent from the private sector and those officials and staffers ultimately return to regulated entities after leaving an agency. To address perceived conflicts of interest, the bill would require ...
-
Blog
The Return of 'Decimal Dust' and the SEC Penalties Act
Three years later, Sen. Chuck Grassley is re-introducing the SEC Penalties Act of 2012 -- and dusting off some old quotes.
-
Blog
Sen. Warren and 'Liberal Allies' Derail Planned SEC Nomination
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and activist groups with which she is aligned have reportedly derailed President Obama's plan to nominate a corporate lawyer for a soon-to-be open Democratic seat on the Commission.
-
Blog
Another Push Afoot to Resurrect Glass-Steagall Act,
Image: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has once again teamed up with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Angus King (I-Maine) to file legislation to restore and modernize the Glass-Steagall Act, separating traditional banks that hold federally insured savings accounts from financial institutions that offer higher-risk services. Details inside.
-
Blog
White Defends Subpoenaing ISPs for E-Mails
Image: The SEC has long opposed efforts to modernize the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, fearing it could lose the ability to subpoena internet service providers for e-mails. Although ISP subpoenas are currently on hold, privacy concerns could harm investigations, Chairman Mary Jo White told a Congressional sub-committee.
-
Blog
Dodd-Frank: Remember the History Before Pushing Reform
Image: As the fifth anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act approaches, we’ll hear more talk about whether the law needs reform; in fact, we already hear that talk in Congress. Before we go too far, Compliance Week editor Matt Kelly writes, we should remember what caused the financial crisis in 2008 ...
-
Blog
House Vote Demands More Transparency from CFPB
The House of Representatives, with a 401-2 vote, has approved legislation that requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to comply with Federal Advisory Committee Act transparency requirements. The Federal Reserve, CIA, and CFPB are among the agencies not covered by the law. More inside.
-
Blog
House Committee Digs Into New Dodd-Frank, CFPB Legislation
The House of Representative’s Committee on Financial Services is moving forward with the latest round of legislative efforts to amend the Dodd-Frank Act, impose new requirements on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and offer regulatory relief to smaller banks and lenders. The first step was a day-long markup of newly ...
-
Blog
Houses Passes XBRL Exemption as Survey Reveals Costs
The House of Representatives passed legislation that includes an exemption for 60 percent of all public companies from the SEC requirement to submit interactive financial statement data using XBRL. Meanwhile, an American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and XBRL U.S. study showed that nearly 75 percent of the smallest public ...
-
Blog
Republicans Move on Volcker Rule, XBRL
The new Republican majority in Congress launched its first strike against the Dodd-Frank Act last Wednesday, passing a bill that offers banks a semi-reprieve from the Volcker Rule and exempts small companies from filing financial statements tagged in XBRL. The legislation now moves to a Senate vote and is likely ...