Washington, D.C., February 02, 2015  – Dennis Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement in response to the release of President Obama’s FY16 Budget proposal for the SEC and the CFTC:

“President Obama should be applauded for his proposal to increase funding for the SEC and CFTC.  The President’s proposal to increase funds for the CFTC above what he called for in his budget last year is particularly welcome and needed at this chronically underfunded agency.

“But the President’s funding requests are only a first step to provide these agencies the resources they need to protect America’s families from another financial crisis.  That is because in recent years Congress has consistently provided the SEC and CFTC with less funding than the President requested while also attaching policy changes that allow Wall Street’s biggest banks to go back to their pre-crash behavior.  The SEC and the CFTC are the financial regulatory agencies that are the cops on the Wall Street beat.  They are the front lines in protecting the savings and livelihoods of American families and it is vital to the stability of our financial system that they receive the resources they need to do the best job possible.”

Attached is a table that shows the funding of the SEC and CFTC compared with President Obama’s request, since FY11.

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Better Markets is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes the public interest in financial reform in the domestic and global capital and commodity markets. Better Markets advocates for transparency, oversight and accountability with the goal of a stronger, safer financial system that is less prone to crisis and failure thereby eliminating or minimizing the need for more taxpayer funded bailouts. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.com.