U.S. Reps. French Hill (R-AR), Ann Wagner (R-MO), and Bryan Steil (R-WI) are investigating the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its Office of Information Technology (OIT) for compliance with federal recordkeeping laws, transparency obligations, and the integrity of agency oversight.
The members, who serve on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, with Rep. Hill as chairman, raised concerns with current SEC Chairman Paul Atkins about the SEC’s loss of nearly a year of texts by former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who served as chair from 2021-2025.
In a Sept. 30 letter sent to Atkins, the lawmakers cited report number 587, entitled “Special Review: Avoidable Errors Led to the Loss of Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s Text Message,” from the SEC Office of Inspector General (OIG) that found nearly one year’s worth of lost text messages of Gensler during 2023.
“The report raises concerns regarding the SEC’s treatment of information technology, particularly as it relates to its most senior officials,” wrote Reps. Hill, Wagner, and Steil, who were joined in signing the letter by U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA), another committee member.
The members also cited information from the SEC and from news reports that during Gensler’s tenure, the SEC sued several financial firms for “widespread record keeping failures,” and in fiscal year 2023 alone, the SEC collected “more than $400 million to settle charges that [25 advisory firms, broker-dealers, and credit rating agencies] violated the recordkeeping requirements of the federal securities laws.”
“It appears that former Chair Gensler held companies to a standard that his own agency did not meet,” they wrote. “As the OIG admits, while the SEC attempted to recover the lost texts, ‘the [SEC] was unable to collect or determine the entire universe, including some federal records.’”
The lawmakers added that the House Financial Services Committee is engaging with the OIG to learn more about the report, seek clarity on outstanding questions, and discuss additional areas that require further oversight and investigation, according to their letter.
“The committee looks forward to the commission’s engagement and transparency during this process,” they wrote Atkins.