US Senate banking panel sets confirmation hearing for Obama's SEC nominees

Following the Democrats' petition about a backlog in the nominations for the members of Securities and Exchange Commission, United States president Barack Obama has appointed two nominees. Recently, the U.S. Senate panel has set a hearing date regarding the two.

According to CNBC, the committee's hearing is due on March 15, five months after Barack Obama announced the pair's selection. The two nominees added are Democrat Lisa Fairfax and Republican Hester Peirce. The Senate Banking Committee Democrats sent a letter dated February 22 to the panel chairman, Republican Senator Richard Shelby, indicating that to clear the backlog of 16 nominations by Obama.

The Wall Street Journal detailed that this would mark the biggest movement since the nominations for the two. Democrat Fairfax is a law professor at George Washington University Law School while Republican Peirce is a former aide to Senate Banking Chairman Richard Shelby. It is notable that the SEC is down to three members after two left the seats vacant late last year. Moreover, it is a common practice by the White House to pair a Democrat with a Republican when it fills vacancies in office such as the SEC.

Also, the stepping down of Republican Daniel Gallagher and Democrat Luis Aguilar increased the agency's challenges. Reuters wrote that only three remains in the position including Democrat Kara Stein, Republican Mike Piwowar, and Chair Mary Jo White, an independent. White previously said that she's waiting for the completion of SEC before moving forward into appointing a new head in the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

The hearing is now being planned and will come through Shelby's decision. The chairman handily won a primary in Alabama that led him to set aside committee work for months. Also, the committee is considering the nomination of Matthew Jeppson to head the U.S. Mint.

 Obama chose Fairfax and Price after months of delays and nominated them to get tough on Wall Street.

Tags

Barack Obama, SEC, Shelby, Senate Panel, Banking Panel, Democrat, Republican, Lisa Fairfax, Hester Price, White House, Securities and Exchange Commission

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