The head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to defend its rulemaking and policing of market misconduct at a hearing today led by Republican lawmakers who have accused it of overstepping its authority, Reuters reported. Having won control of the House of Representatives last year, Republicans now have a pulpit to try to constrain President Joe Biden's administrative oversight of key financial issues. Some in the finance industry have joined in the criticism, saying the SEC is going too far in its reforms and not taking time for industry feedback. But SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who has helmed the agency since April 2021, underscored the agency's rulemaking work as "grounded in legal authorities granted by Congress" in testimony prepared for Tuesday's House Financial Services Committee hearing. The SEC has proposed a stock market overhaul and laid out plans to require companies to disclose climate-related risks, among numerous other reforms. "Forsaking investor protection puts real people's life savings at risk. The goal is to protect our 'clients': U.S. investors," he said in the prepared remarks.
