Page 12 - Investment Advisor January/February 2022

Beginnings

WASHINGTON WATCH

By Melanie Waddell

GOP Lawmakers Blast SEC’s Gensler Over

‘Unreasonably Short’ Comment Periods

McHenry and Toomey want Gensler to extend the 60-day money market
fund reform comment period to at least 90 days.

They added that “despite these rec-
ommended practices, the majority of
SEC proposals put forward under your
chairmanship have thus far allowed less
than 60 days for public comment. …
Two proposals provide 60-day comment
periods, three proposals provide 45-day
comment periods, and six proposals
provide 30-day comment periods,” with
some coinciding with federal holidays.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The money market fund reform propos-
al, issued in December, provides a 60-day
epublican lawmakers blast- periods, which will harm the quality of comment period, which “is still an insuf-
ed Securities and Exchange public comment and may run afoul of the ficient amount of time for such significant
R Commission Gary Gensler in Administrative Procedure Act,” Toomey revisions to money market fund rules,”
early January for what they argue are and McHenry wrote. “The SEC should McHenry and Toomey wrote. They urged
“unreasonably short comment periods” on remedy this disturbing and unprec- Gensler to extend the comment period on
the rules Gensler plans to tackle this year. edented pattern — which contradicts the the rule’s revisions to at least 90 days,
Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., the top executive orders from both Democratic consistent with “the process for the most
Republican on the House Financial and Republican administrations meant recent prior significant substantive revi-
Services Committee, and Pat Toomey, to encourage deliberative rulemakings sions to the money market fund rule.”
R-Pa., the top Republican on the Senate — by extending the comment period of
Banking Committee, voiced their con- all proposed rulemakings that have been REFORM PROPOSAL
cerns to Gensler in a recent letter on released during your time at the SEC.” In proposing the money market fund rule
what they say are short comment periods President Barack Obama’s White House, change, the SEC noted that in March 2020,
on, for instance, the money market fund the two wrote, “appropriately recognized “growing economic concerns about the
and proxy voting proposals. Short public that public comment periods on most impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led
comment periods “limit outside input on rulemakings should be at least 60 days. investors to reallocate their assets into cash
rulemakings,” the GOP lawmakers argue. Extended comment periods, for example, and short-term government securities.” Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters/Bloomberg
“We are concerned that the Securities for 90 days or 120 days, are also appropri- Prime and tax-exempt money market
and Exchange Commission rulemakings ate when taking up particularly complex funds, particularly institutional funds,
under your tenure have consistently rulemakings or when numerous rulemak- “experienced large outflows, which con-
provided unreasonably short comment ings are simultaneously outstanding.” tributed to stress on short-term funding

10 INVESTMENT ADVISOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 | ThinkAdvisor.com