Self-funding has been a very elusive and unlikely goal of many SEC leaders for years, if not decades, but it now appears to be on the brink of occurring. Dow Jones Newswires reports that after today's conference, House and Senate lawmakers are now in agreement that the agency should be able to fund itself based on the fees it collects.

House conferees on the financial reform bill voted today in favor of self-funding. Senate approval is expected, as well, as several senators on the conference committee are on record as proponents of self-funding.

As I stated here back in September 2009, my own take on the subject is that

the time for self-funding the SEC has arrived. It seems clear to me that the challenges and demands imposed by the markets the SEC regulates change so quickly and significantly that the SEC is routinely left hanging by the current appropriations process. I say let the SEC be self-funded like the FDIC and other regulators, and see if it can better execute its mission with the funding and flexibility it believes it needs.