SEC Chief Calls For Self-funded SEC

According to an article in the Financial Times, SEC Chairperson Mary Shapiro is calling for a change in the budgetary process at the SEC. Shapiro wants the SEC to be self-funded, which would allow the Commission to use the $1 billion in annual registration and transaction fees it collects. The proposal eliminates the need to go to Congress for approval of the Commission's annual budget. Of course, the current level of fees exceeds the money budgeted to the SEC.

Read the entire Financial Times article, "SEC chief in call for funding shake-up" by Joanna Chung, Brooke Masters and Francesco Guerrera. Published: August 6 2009 03:00:

The US Securities and Exchange Commission should fund itself directly from industry fees, a system that would allow it to tackle more complex investigations and invest more in technology and skilled people, Mary Schapiro, its chairman, told the Financial Times.

The complete article is available here.