The House Financial Services Committee, under the leadership of Republicans, has sent another letter to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler – this time blasting Gensler for ignoring a previous missive.
The Chairman of the Committee, Patrick McHenry, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, and the Chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, James Comer, have joined in sending the letter to Gensler addressing the possible failure to comply with federal record-keeping laws.
Last November, a letter was sent to Chair Gensler that the Republicans say Gensler ignored:
“While your response letter refers to the operations of the SEC’s Records and Information Management Program and FOIA Office, the SEC’s regulations, guidance, and training, and the SEC’s general commitment to complying with federal recordkeeping obligations, you failed to respond directly to the five clear requests set forth in the SEC Off-Platform Letter. This includes providing the specific certifications regarding the SEC’s and your personal compliance with federal recordkeeping requirements.”
The off-platform request is in regard to the possibility of communications sent “off-channel” using services like WhatsApp, Zoom, and more.
At least part of the issue has to do with the focus of the Commission its agenda regarding ESG. Specially, Climate Disclosure has been criticized by Republicans in the past due to the belief this is beyond the remit of the SEC, as well as the damage it may cause to public markets and the heightened cost to firms in regard to ongoing disclosure.
The Republicans are demanding responses no later than July 17th pertaining to record-keeping and off-channel communications.
