Rebecca Zeljko
The conservative group Advancing American Freedom founded by former Vice President Mike Pence is raising alarm about the Biden administration’s efforts to collect Americans’ private financial information, according to a memo obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2012 approved a program to lend a hand financial regulators track transactions in U.S. markets by creating a “consolidated audit trail” (CAT). It would require brokerages and exchanges to collect and report certain financial information to regulators and other financial organizations. Under the Biden administration, the SEC approved modern financing model for CAT in September 2023
The AAF memo warned that the CAT program is actually an “Orwellian” government database of Americans’ personal information and urged lawmakers to support a bill that would prevent the SEC from forcing financial institutions to hand over Americans’ information. The bill, the so-called HR4551 or the Investor Personal Information Protection Act, was introduced by a Republican. Barry Loudermilk Georgia.
“We have seen abuses by other government agencies, including the IRS, sharing private financial information,” AAF President Marc Short told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “It’s unconstitutional and reckless excessive regulatory burden should be stopped.”
The note indicated that in March 2020 SEC Chairman Jay Clayton spent order to limit the collection of personal data.
“I believe that CAT’s regulatory objectives can be achieved without collecting the most sensitive information for retail investors,” Clayton said in statement. “It is important to minimize the impact of any potential data breaches while also assessing the need for cybersecurity improvements in CAT.”
House Appropriations Committee Financial Services expense bill would also prohibit the SEC from collecting personal information regarding CAT.
The bill too cuts SEC funds $589 million below the fiscal 2025 budget request and $144.3 million below the current fiscal 2024 budget.
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Rebeka Zeljko is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Rep. Barry Loudermillk” by Congressman Barry Loudermilk. Cover photo “US Capitol Building” by Ivan Dražić.
