Congress: Robert Hurt introduces bipartisan legislation to require SEC to review regulations

Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Virginia) recently introduced the Streamlining Excessive and Costly Regulations Review Act, H.R. 2354, along with Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona).  This legislation would require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to review its significant regulations to determine if they are necessary in the public interest or should be amended or rescinded.  Congressman Hurt said:

“Overregulation of small businesses undoubtedly stands in the way of job creation across Virginia’s Fifth District and across our great nation.  Given the SEC’s role in our marketplace, its regulations directly affect the efficiency and success of our Main Street businesses.  The SEC’s mission – facilitating capital formation, protecting investors, and maintaining fair and efficient markets – puts it at the forefront of ensuring that our small businesses have access to the capital they need to start, hire, and expand their businesses.  The SEC is not presently required to conduct comprehensive, retrospective review of its regulations, meaning that outdated and duplicative rules may be left on the books without being modernized.  We must ensure that the SEC operates efficiently, fulfills its mission, and looks for ways to reduce burdens and costs at a time when our economy is struggling.  

“This bill will require the SEC to comprehensively review its regulations every ten years – a process that other financial regulatory bodies already perform – to streamline their rules and ensure they are all up-to-date.  It’s a commonsense, good-government measure that will hold the Commission accountable and promote fair, efficient, and effective regulation. I look forward to working with Representative Sinema and my colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee to ensure the SEC’s regulations are in the best interests of the American people.”

Congresswoman Sinema said, “Business owners in Arizona regularly tell me that our inefficient and often confusing regulatory environment hurts their ability to grow and hire.  This commonsense legislation requires the SEC to improve and repeal outdated regulations, holding them accountable and providing certainty for businesses and consumers.  I am committed to working with Congressman Hurt and my colleagues on the House Financial Services to streamline regulations, reduce the costs of compliance, and spur economic growth and job creation in Arizona and across the country.”

 

Background

• The bill requires that within the first five years after enactment, and every ten years thereafter, the SEC must engage in a retrospective review of all significant SEC rules and regulations.
• This legislation is modeled on the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996, which requires prudential financial regulatory agencies to retrospectively review their regulations every ten years.