Frank finds few friends among GOP for SEC amendment

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) last week found support from just six Republicans for his amendment to increase funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which needs more money after last year's Dodd-Frank law increased its regulatory responsibility.

Frank brought up his amendment to add $131 million to the SEC's budget on Thursday, but it was rejected in a 160-270 vote.

Three Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee, which Frank chaired last year, voted for the amendment: Mike Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Walter Jones (N.C.) and Jim Renacci (Ohio).

Karin Davenport, Renacci's press secretary, said Renacci does not agree with Dodd-Frank's regulatory overreach, but at the same time said he does not think Congress should take money away from the agency without first changing the law.

"The SEC would still be statutorily bound to conduct all of this new work, just with less money, so their legitimate market regulation, investigation and enforcement duties would suffer," she said.

Three other Republicans voted for Frank's amendment: Reps. Jim Gerlach (Pa.), Tom McClintock (Calif.) and Cliff Stearns (Fla.).

Before the vote, the amendment was sharply criticized by Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), who said the SEC's budget has been doubled in the past decade, even as the SEC has failed to detect and stop various Ponzi schemes and can't produce an accurate financial statement of its own activities. Republicans also said they oppose pulling money from other agencies in order to increase SEC funding.