April 23, 2010

WASHINGTON - Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus today released the following statement regarding the SEC Inspector General's report detailing numerous instances of SEC employees using government computers and time to view pornography.

"The disturbing revelations in this report are further evidence of a much larger problem facing the agency.  This may help explain why the SEC failed in its duty to protect investors and ensure market integrity.  They missed the Madoff and Stanford Ponzi schemes, and they operated a failed investment bank supervisory program that was unsuccessful in preventing the Bear Stearns and Lehman failures. 

"While watching porn all day undoubtedly contributed to the ineffectiveness of the SEC's work force, the administration, Congress, and the investing public must demand accountability at all levels of the agency.  Taxpayers and investors who lost billions because the SEC couldn't do its job deserve much better.

"Unfortunately the Democrats' financial regulatory legislation fails to fundamentally reform the SEC.  Instead, it rewards the SEC with vast new regulatory authorities and responsibilities they clearly can't handle.  The bill passed by the House last December only calls for another study to examine the need for comprehensive reform of the SEC, and the Senate bill would allow the SEC to self-fund, essentially removing them from the appropriations oversight process altogether. The IG's report is just further evidence that the time for real SEC reform is now."

Last week, Bachus joined Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) in issuing a letter to Chairman Barney Frank calling for further hearings and increased oversight of the SEC in light of recent failures and Democrat proposals to increase the agency's authority.   Click here to view the letter. 

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