RJ and Makay

For the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be able to do its job next year, it'll need all $1.4 billion of its proposed 2012 budget, SEC Chair Mary Schapiro told a House financial services subcommittee on Tuesday.

That $1.4 billion would cover the 780 new hires necessary for the SEC to perform its core functions and comply with Dodd-Frank, according to Schapiro. “Not only does the Dodd-Frank Act create significant additional work for the SEC, both in the short and long term, but the agency must also continue to carry out its longstanding core responsibilities,” she explains.

The financial industry and Congressional Republicans don't see eye to eye about proposed budget cuts at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Whereas the Republicans want less money for the SEC, the financial industry is concerned that would hamper the SEC so much that the new Dodd-Frank financial reform law will become far more burdensome than necessary. “There’s a real disconnect,” observes K&L Gates partner Stephen Crimmins, who worked at the SEC for 14 years.