SEC's Schapiro says agency should be self-funding

Securities Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro speaks during her testimony at the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington July 23, 2009.

CAMBRIDGE (Reuters) - Congress should allow the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to retain the fees it collects and become self-funding, Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro said on Thursday.

In remarks prepared for a speech at Harvard University, Schapiro said that large ups and downs in the agency's annual budget has made long-term planning difficult.

"It is truly critical that, if the SEC is to become the kind of regulatory agency that the American people have a right to expect, we have sufficient, stable long-term funding," Schapiro said.

The SEC collects fees from the thousands of companies it regulates. Its budget, which is much smaller than the fees it collects, is determined annually by Congress.

"Virtually, every other financial regulator is self-funded, which gives them the flexibility to respond to market events through increased staffing and technology developments. Like them, the SEC should be self-funded," Schapiro said.

(Reporting Aaron Pressman, writing by Ros Krasny; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)