NEWS RELEASE
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE DEMOCRATS
Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member
For Immediate Release
October 28, 2004 |
Contact: Jodi Seth
202-225-3641 |
GAO AGREES TO DO FOLLOW-UP REPORT
ON SEC AND CFTC FINES AND
DISGORGEMENT COLLECTIONS;
SEC SUBMITS PROGRESS REPORT ON SIPC
Washington, D.C. -- Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, today released a commitment letter dated October 27, 2004, from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), agreeing to do a followup report on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fines and disgorgement collections. The work was requested by Reps. Barney Frank, Paul E. Kanjorski, and Dingell in letters dated August 14, 2003 (fines) and November 13, 2002 (disgorgement). GAO indicates that, due to uncertainty regarding the availability of SEC and CFTC data necessary for GAO’s review, GAO will need to proceed with a separate design phase which it expects to complete by November 30, 2004. The GAO letter also sets forth the study objectives. See the Congressmen’s request letters (www.house.gov/energycommerce) to identify the GAO recommendations and open questions to be covered in this report. Separately, Rep. Dingell also today released an October 12, 2004 letter from SEC Chairman William H. Donaldson to Reps. Frank, Kanjorski, and Dingell on the progress being made by the SEC in implementing GAO’s recommendations for improving the quality of investor information about Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) protection. Donaldson reports that NYSE and NASD have agreed to propose a rule, no later than next spring, requiring that clearing firms include information on account statements about documenting unauthorized trades in writing. The regulators remain opposed, however, to requiring that broker-dealers send the SIPC brochure to all customers opening new accounts ("they believe that the costs of such a requirement may outweigh the benefits") and are considering alternatives. Finally, Donaldson confirms that SEC staff is conducting a follow-up examination of SIPC, focusing on how SIPC conducts broker-dealer liquidation proceedings and informs investors about SIPC coverage, matters that have been criticized in the past by SEC, GAO, and investors. - 30 - |
