Strengthening the Office of the Investor Advocate Act
This bill revises provisions governing the Office of the Investor Advocate at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Specifically, the bill
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7732 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7732
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with respect to the Office
of the Investor Advocate, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 12, 2022
Mr. Lynch introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with respect to the Office
of the Investor Advocate, and for other purposes.
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 ``Strengthening the Office of the
Investor Advocate Act''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF THE INVESTOR ADVOCATE.
Section 4(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C.
78d(g)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ``in
securities and investor protection issues, from the
perspective of investors'' and inserting ``, except
that the individuals considered for appointment may not
be limited to only those with professional or other
qualifications relating to securities and investor
protection issues''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) Removal.--
``(i) In general.--The Investor Advocate--
``(I) may only be removed--
``(aa) by the Chairman; and
``(bb) in accordance with
applicable law; and
``(II) may not be removed for
advocating for policies adverse to
those of the Chairman or any
Commissioner.
``(ii) Communication of removal.--In the
case of a removal of the Investor Advocate, the
Chairman shall, not later than 30 days before
such removal, submit to Congress a notice of
such removal that includes the reasons for such
removal.
``(iii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in
this subparagraph shall prohibit any action
otherwise authorized by law, other than the
removal of the Investor Advocate.'';
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``, after consultation
with the Chairman of the Commission,'';
(3) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by striking ``and'' at
the end;
(B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(F) engage in such investor research and investor
testing programs that the Investor Advocate determines
are in the public interest or for the protection of
investors.'';
(4) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and (8) as
paragraphs (6), (8), (9), and (11), respectively;
(5) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) Investor research and investor testing programs.--
``(A) Independence.--Subject to subparagraph (B),
the results of any investor research and investor
testing program carried out under paragraph (4)(F) may
be made publicly available at the discretion of the
Investor Advocate without any prior review or comment
from the Commission, any Commissioner, any other
officer or employee of the Commission, or the Office of
Management and Budget.
``(B) Redaction of personally identifiable
information.--The Investor Advocate may not publish
results described in subparagraph (A) that contain
personally identifiable information.
``(C) Rule of construction.--For purposes of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq.), any action carried out under paragraph (4)(F)
shall not be construed to be a collection of
information.'';
(6) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking ``as
necessary'' and inserting ``as the Investor Advocate determines
to be appropriate'';
(7) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
``(7) Access to services.--The Commission shall ensure that
the Investor Advocate is authorized, to the extent and in such
amounts as may be provided in advance of appropriations, to--
``(A) enter into contracts and other arrangements
for audits, studies, analyses, and other services with
public agencies and with private persons; and
``(B) make such payments as may be necessary to
carry out the functions of the Office.'';
(8) in paragraph (8), as so redesignated--
(A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as
follows:
``(A) Discretionary reports.--In the case of
special or extraordinary circumstances, the Investor
Advocate may make such reports to Congress as the
Investor Advocate determines appropriate.''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B)(i), by inserting ``and the
objectives of the Investor Advocate for the following
fiscal year'' before the period at the end;
(9) in paragraph (9), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``shall, by regulation'' and
inserting ``shall--
``(A) by regulation'';
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting
``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) consult with the Investor Advocate with
respect to the consideration of the adoption, revision,
and rescissions of rules and regulations of general
application.''; and
(10) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following:
``(10) Budget.--
``(A) Budget estimate required.--For each fiscal
year, the Investor Advocate shall transmit a budget
estimate and request to the Commission that specifies
the aggregate amount of funds requested for such fiscal
year for the operations of the Office.
``(B) Contents.--In transmitting a proposed budget
to the President for approval, the Commission shall
include--
``(i) an aggregate request for the Investor
Advocate; and
``(ii) any comments of the Investor
Advocate with respect to the proposal.
``(C) Presidential budget.--The President shall
include in the budget for each fiscal year that is
submitted by the President under section 1105(a) of
title 31, United States Code--
``(i) a separate statement of the budget
estimate prepared in accordance with
subparagraph (B);
``(ii) the amount requested by the
President for the Investor Advocate; and
``(iii) the views of the Investor Advocate
with respect to the amount described in clause
(ii), including whether in the opinion of the
Investor Advocate such amount would
substantially inhibit the Investor Advocate
from performing the duties of the office.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 25 - 22.
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