President Donald Trump's budget would eliminate the key fund that the Securities and Exchange Commission uses to beef up cybersecurity measures and deter fraud.
The SEC's budget request of $1.602 billion for fiscal year 2018, which the agency submitted Tuesday, would support 4,543 positions for the year. The agency states that its request is "essentially flat compared to the FY 2017 level and contemplates continued access to the Commission's Reserve Fund" to fund long-term capital investments in information technology.
The Trump administration's budget seeks to abolish the Reserve Fund, which was created by the Dodd-Frank Act.
The SEC was given authority to establish a Reserve Fund with the Treasury Department and deposit into the fund up to $50 million annually from registration fees collected from SEC registrants, with a fund balance limit of $100 million. The fund is separate from the agency's annual appropriation.
The administration states in its budget that doing away with the fund would reduce the deficit by $50 million a year.
