Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society

The Mechanics of Legislation: Congress, the SEC and Financial Regulation

The Other Players

Executive Action and Inaction

October 28, 1997 President William J. Clinton and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; courtesy of the William J. Clinton Library

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is an independent regulatory commission, separate from Presidential administrations. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that Presidents do not also assert influence on securities and financial legislation.

Presidents, like Congress, must respond to the impulse of current events and act to avert crises. Economic crises, especially those that affect the investing public and their financial interests, compel Presidents to act. When that happens, the administration in power seeks to work with Congress and the SEC to implement legislation to address public concerns.

Some Presidents, as part of their economic policy or philosophy, support more fundamental changes, moving the pendulum to either greater or lesser regulation. President Reagan came into office on a platform that advocated eliminating layers of government regulation, including those affecting the financial markets, as one of his pillars of economic recovery.16  A President’s agenda may create a conflict between members of Congress and the SEC, when administrative policies come into conflict with the objectives of Congress or the Commission.

However, not all Presidents take a proactive role in financial legislation. Initially, President Clinton was not an active participant in the on-going debate over the repeal of Glass-Steagall. It was only after a push from Congress that he formed the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets in a belated attempt to shape the administration’s position and influence the proposed Congressional reforms.

The process of legislating becomes more complicated when bills which may be favored by the SEC are opposed by the President. The President’s veto power significantly diminishes prospects for enactment for any legislation which the President opposes. 17


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Footnotes:

(16) Thomas O. McGarity, Regulatory Reform in the Reagan Era, 45 Maryland Law Review 2 (2012).

(17) Transcripts from Presidential Oral History Program, Miller Center, University of Virginia.

Related Museum Resources

Papers

January 8, 1970
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma)
January 25, 1983
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library)
February 23, 1983
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library)
1993-2001
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
January 21, 1993
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
January 25, 1993
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
February 17, 1993
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
March 24, 1993
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
December 1, 1993
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
December 27, 1993
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
November 30, 1994
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
January 12, 1995
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
March 29, 1995
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
June 15, 1995
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
July 1995
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
July 17, 1995
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
August 12, 1996
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
September 11, 1996
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
September 19, 1996
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
October 4, 1996
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
October 7, 1996
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
October 7, 1996
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
October 11, 1996
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
October 13, 1996
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
March 21, 1997
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
April 30, 1998
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
May 1, 1998
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
March 1, 1999
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
March 24, 1999
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
May 3, 1999
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
May 3, 1999
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
May 3, 1999
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
May 3, 1999
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
May 4, 1999
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
May 4, 1999
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
May 4, 1999
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
October 22, 1999
transcript pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
November 20, 2000
image pdf (Courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)

Galleries

In the Midst of Revolution: The SEC, 1973-1981

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