At a meeting last week, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro pledged to lawmakers that the SEC will do a better job communicating with them. Schapiro reportedly initiated the meeting with Capital Markets Subcommittee Chairman Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., and Ranking Member Scott Garrett, R-N.J., to talk about improved cooperation between the subcommittee and the SEC following recent hearings in which the SEC was harshly criticized for declining to answer specific questions about its admitted failings in the Bernard Madoff investigation, Dow Jones Newswires reports. The SEC stated in the hearings that providing specific responses could compromise the ongoing criminal investigations.
“Chairman Schapiro clearly understands the importance of maintaining an open door and communicating with Congress, so that Congress can conduct appropriate oversight,” Kanjorski said. “We are using the Madoff fraud as a case study to guide the work of the Capital Markets Subcommittee in rewriting the laws that protect investors and govern the securities industry. At our meeting, Chairman Schapiro agreed to assist us in these efforts, and we look forward to receiving the testimony of the SEC at future hearings on these matters.”
Garrett stated that Schapiro’s initiative in this area was “appreciated” and that he feels “positive and hope[s] to have a good working relationship and hope[s] to be able to begin to pin down some of the points we need to pin down so Congress can respond. “I am adamant that we move forward on this and so is she, so I think it will work out,” Garrett said.
