March 23, 2017

Crapo Remarks at Nomination Hearing

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today delivered the following opening remarks during a full committee hearing on the nomination of Jay Clayton to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The text of Chairman Crapo’s remarks, as prepared, is below.

“This hearing will come to order.

“This morning, we will hear testimony on the nomination of Jay Clayton to be the Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 

“Mr. Clayton has extensive expertise in our financial markets as a highly-regarded securities lawyer. 

“For decades he has helped companies access our capital markets, increase their ability to invest in the U.S., and grow and create jobs.

“One area on which Mr. Clayton has already indicated he will focus is capital formation.

“Capital markets drive innovation and job creation, and access is the lifeblood of our economy.

“The JOBS Act helped revitalize the primary markets, and both Congress and the SEC should continue to find ways to help companies go public and allow investors to share in their success.

“Recently, this Committee marked up several bipartisan securities bills and we encourage you, if confirmed, to help us identify other securities areas which could use legislative improvement.

“The SEC has an important three part mission: protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation.

“Each part of the mission is equally important and should not come at the expense of another.

“I raise this because the SEC’s mission is critical to every U.S. citizen and retiree.

“Investors should be able to participate in our markets, on fair footing, so that they can pay for life events such as college and save for retirement. 

“We also need to help investors make sure they have material information to make informed investment decisions.

“I have repeatedly stressed the need for the U.S. financial system and markets to remain the preferred destination for investors throughout the world, and the SEC has an important role to that end.

“I look forward to hearing more from you on how we can help companies grow, Americans get hired, and investors share in the wealth creation by these companies.

“Another important issue that the SEC is tasked with is ensuring that the stock market rules and regulations are still appropriate, given that most of them were promulgated in a time where technology was much less advanced.

“It is imperative that these rules serve the needs of companies and investors.

“In that vein, it is important for the SEC to do retrospective reviews of its own regulations to ensure they are working out as intended and are still appropriate. This is in line with the President’s own executive orders on regulation.

“Other regulators are subject to EGRPRA, the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act, which statutorily mandates a review and evaluation of existing regulations in order to identify which are outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome. 

“While technically the SEC is not subject to EGRPRA, your predecessor, Chair White, indicated before this Committee that she was ‘very much committed to reviewing [the SEC’s] rules in that fashion.’ A commitment that many would like to see continue.

“Additionally, it is important for the SEC to have robust cost benefit analysis. I have long stated this position and our President recently echoed the importance of cost-benefit analysis in an executive order.

“I look forward to hearing from you today on these issues, as well as what you hope to prioritize when you are at the SEC.

“Congratulations on your nomination, and thank you and your family for your willingness to serve.”