[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18170-18171]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION REPORTING MODERNIZATION ACT

  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3032) to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to repeal 
a certain reporting requirement of the Securities and Exchange 
Commission.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3032

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Securities and Exchange 
     Commission Reporting Modernization Act''.

     SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

       Paragraph (6) of section 21(h) of the Securities Exchange 
     Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78u(h)) is repealed.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Hensarling) and the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.

                              {time}  1945


                             General Leave

  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3032, the Securities and 
Exchange Commission Reporting Modernization Act.
  I want to thank the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) and the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Hurt), for their very diligent and 
bipartisan work that resulted in the Financial Services Committee 
favorably reporting H.R. 3032 on a unanimous vote.
  I would also like to thank SEC Chair Mary Jo White and her fellow 
Commissioners for providing their unanimous recommendation to eliminate 
this reporting requirement, which the Congress previously repealed for 
all other regulatory agencies.
  No matter how modest the legislation may be, legislative efforts to 
eliminate unnecessary and otherwise extraneous reporting requirements 
are exactly the type of proactive suggestions our regulators should 
provide to the committee for consideration.
  Despite the Senate's unwillingness to pass equally bipartisan bills 
to spur growth, promote capital formation, and create jobs, I hope our 
colleagues in the Senate can agree that this exceedingly minor change 
is worthy of swift enactment.
  Again, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) and 
the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Hurt) for their bipartisan work.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I am so happy to join the chairman of the Financial Services 
Committee and Ms. Sinema in overwhelmingly supporting H.R. 3032.
  This bill, of course, will relieve the SEC from unnecessary 
administrative burdens and enable the already overwhelmed agency to 
focus resources to other, more mission-critical tasks, examinations, 
and enforcement.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) to talk about her great legislation.
  Ms. SINEMA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Moore and Chairman 
Hensarling for their bipartisan support of this bill. I also thank 
Congressman Robert Hurt for being the lead Republican sponsor of this 
bipartisan legislation.

[[Page 18171]]

  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of our bill, H.R. 3032, the 
Securities and Exchange Commission Reporting Modernization Act.
  Our regulatory system is inefficient, complicated and confusing, 
which is why it is so important that outdated regulations are reviewed 
with the goal of modifying them or repealing them to reduce waste and 
to make them work for everyday Americans.
  That is why I have introduced this bipartisan legislation with 
Congressman Hurt, to repeal an unnecessary and outdated reporting 
requirement in the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
  Since 1995, the SEC has been the only Federal agency required to 
compile this obscure annual report. It is a waste of taxpayer dollars, 
and it is a paperwork burden that diverts time and resources from 
protecting investors.
  Modernizing the SEC's reporting requirements will allow the 
Commission to better focus on its mission of protecting investors; 
maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitating 
capital formation.
  I am committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to ensure that our financial markets work for everyone, and I 
hope that Members will join me in support of this bipartisan 
legislation.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, so I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, so 
I urge all of my colleagues to support this commonsense, bipartisan 
bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3032.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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