Senate Republicans Submit Comments on Pace of Rulemaking, IG Report Concerns

A group of six Senate Republicans submitted a comment letter to the SEC’s recent rule proposal impacting open-end funds. In the letter, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) noted that a recent SEC Inspector General report stated there are “grave deficiencies within the SEC, especially pertaining to its workforce, level of rulemaking experience, and the length of public comment periods.” The letter posed several questions about the pace of rulemakings, responding to concerns in the IG report about staff-related issues, and resource management. This is the latest in numerous letters sent from Capitol Hill to the Commission related to the pace of rulemaking. An October letter signed by several Senate Democrats detailed concerns regarding the Commission’s pace of rulemaking and abbreviated comments periods. The Commission’s proposal, which would change how open-end funds classify the liquidity of their investments and implement mandatory swing pricing for open-end mutual funds, among other changes, had the support of the three Democratic commissioners and was opposed by the two Republican commissioners.