U.S. Chamber Letter on the Nomination of Paul Atkins as SEC Commissioner

To the Members of the United States Senate:

As the U.S. Senate considers the nomination of Paul Atkins to be Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the U.S Chamber of Commerce offers the following observations. As demonstrated during his confirmation hearing, Mr. Atkins is eminently qualified to lead the SEC and is committed to upholding the agency’s tripartite mission of investor protection; competition; and capital formation. We urge quick consideration by the Senate of Mr. Atkins nomination, and we look forward to working with him upon his confirmation.

Over the past thirty years, we have witnessed a precipitous decline in the number of American public companies. In his confirmation hearing, Mr. Atkins testified, “I want to get politics out of the financial markets and out of how the SEC interacts with the financial markets.” He expressed concern that regulations that are unclear, overly politicized, complicated, and unnecessarily burdensome leave investors overloaded with non-material disclosures. This has also made it more difficult for businesses to raise the capital needed to grow and create well-paying jobs.

The Chamber supports a comprehensive review of SEC regulations and eliminating rules that do not serve the marketplace. The SEC can confront the overt politicization of shareholder proposals by creating transparency and accountability over proxy advisory firms, enforcing fiduciary duties and reforming the thresholds for shareholder proposals while also enforcing ownership verifications. This will foster a conducive environment for effective investor engagement, while limiting the power of special interest activists and gadfly investors. The SEC should also embrace technological improvements and changing outmoded rules to give more Americans the ability to access to U.S. capital markets and reap its rewards. 

We look forward to working with the Senate and Mr. Atkins to support a stronger economy that will improve the lives of all Americans. Thank you for considering his nomination.

About the authors

Neil Bradley

Neil Bradley is executive vice president, chief policy officer, and head of strategic advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He has spent two decades working directly with congressional committee chairpersons and other high-ranking policymakers to achieve solutions.

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