U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Spared Government Shutdown
Congress has failed to reach a spending budget after serious political division, causing a widespread governmental shutdown in the U.S.
Workers in ‘non-essential’ jobs have been forced to take unpaid leave and national parks, museums, and attractions will be closed. Government agencies will remain open as their work is deemed essential although cut backs will be made and employees will be expected to work without pay.
The United States’ financial and securities regulator Securities and Exchange Commission will not be closing amid this
government shutdown and has enough funding to stay open for a short period of time.
Problem surrounding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act – or Obamacare as it is known – have been a major contributor to the cause of this government shutdown. House Republicans wanted to delay the Act as part of a plan to keep the federal government operational and avoid the current situation, but the controlling number of Democrats deflected these measures, effectively forcing the shutdown of ‘non-essential’ work.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is on a level with better known federal agencies such as the Department of Justice, Department of Defence, and Department of State. Their regulation of the national and global economy is crucial to ensure proper operation of financial markets. These include equity markets such as the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, the major Wall Street investment banks, mutual funds and hedge funds, and commodities markets.
By enforcing the various financial securities acts and promoting market transparency, the Securities and Exchange Commission protects the financial markets from against fraud. In addition to their protected funding that is currently keeping it open, the Securities and Exchange Commission has a contingency plan in place in case of a total U.S government shutdown.
