financial crisis, and the fall out from the madoff scandal, it was not a surprise that some were kcalling for the agency to be disbanded. but the importance of the mission was understood, to protect investors and ensure the integrity of our markets and the men and women of the sec were eager to meet those challenges head on and that was no surprise to me. from my earlier years with the sec, i knew well that the individuals who serve are a dedicated, and talented team, able and eager to rise to the occasion. i knew we had come through and i'm happy with how far we came. i am asking that anyone that has previously worked or works at the sec to stand and be recognized. [ applause ] >> thank you for your service. our commitment to evolve, helped to drive a consensus inside and outside the sec. that the better solution was not to shutter the agency but to strengthen it. to demand more aggressive and efficient action from us and for us to embrace needed reforms and better adjust to the world we were operating in. that is what we set out to do. we invested in technology and human capital and sig