FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Jesse Jacobs - 202-224-4524

Wednesday, March 20, 2002

Craig Davis - 202-224-7391



SARBANES HAILS SENATE DEMOCRATIC
BUDGET RESOLUTION'S INCREASE IN SEC BUDGET

INCREASE EQUALS ALMOST 50%
ABOVE PRESIDENT BUSH'S REQUEST


Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD), the Chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and a member of the Senate Budget Committee, hailed the significant increase in funds for the Securities and Exchange Commission that has been included in the FY 2003 Democratic Budget Resolution released today.

Under the Democratic Budget Resolution announced today, the FY 2003 recommendation for the SEC budget would increase to $700 million, an increase of $220 million over the President's request.

Sarbanes, who has been a leading advocate of increased funding for the SEC in the wake of the collapse of Enron Corp., worked closely with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad to ensure that adequate monies would be included in the budget blueprint for SEC operations.

"The crisis that has rocked the confidence of investors urgently requires adequate resources for the agency that oversees the functions of our capital markets," said Sarbanes. "With major regulatory changes designed to prevent future Enron's forthcoming, the SEC must have additional staff to carry out its responsibilities. And the SEC must be able to offer its staff salaries competitive with those at other regulatory agencies. We can no longer countenance the rapid turnover that lagging salaries has caused. Pay parity has been approved by the Congress and signed into law by the President, and it must be implemented to stop the staff hemorrhaging that in recent years has plagued the Commission."



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