schapiro i must tell you, chairman schapiro, that when i was talking to my staff and we were e-mailing back and forth at 4:00 a.m. this morning about this case, because it does trouble me to a degree with regard to the appearance of a conflict of interest. and i think, when we hear ms. chaitman, what she has had to say, that shows you why, and i'm sure you see it, why we have to make sure that we don't even have the appearance, because what happens is that every decision made by mr. becker becomes suspect. it is my favorite author in his book the speed of trust, says that once trust is lost everything moves more slowly. and so, i cannot begin to tell you how pleased i was when you walked in here today and said we will go beyond what may be required. that is so very very important. in my office i have five people. whenever there is an ethics question they all have to agree. if one b. does it is out the door. why? because the public is looking over our shoulders. we want to do the right thing and we want to make sure that it is right. now, so this has been a major wake-up call, hasn't it

chairman mary schapiro about why she let a former top s.e.c. lawyer take part in the bernie madoff case, even though his mother had invested with madoff. as darren gersh reports, the issue comes as the s.e.c. is asking congress for more money to police wall street. >> reporter: the man at the center of today's hearing declined to testify today. former s.e.c. general counsel david becker inherited money from his mother that had been invested with bernie madoff. becker disclosed that fact, but was still allowed to make recommendations about which madoff victims should be allowed to file compensation claims. darrell issa, the chairman of the house oversight committee, called that a mistake. >> i believe, as we look further into the becker matter, we're going to find the s.e.c. failed to have the highest level of care so that public confidence could be maintained. >> reporter: becker told s.e.c. chairman mary schapiro about the investment, and she said she expected becker would disclose the matter to an s.e.c. compliance officer, which he did. >> i

schapiro to go -- when mr. pierce testified on july 14th with the subcommittee and capital markets that she would do everything in her power to provide the maximum coverage for all investors i assumed she was in fact going to follow my request but now i have learned that in january of 2009 the sec had already agreed with the denial of insurance to half of the victims. >> i yield back. >> for five minutes. >> thanks to all the witnesses for your testimony. per the last couple weeks i have been plow in my way through the financial crisis in report which is anything but bedtime reading. i am sure chairman shapiro, you are what the report concluded particularly with regards to the sec and the was interested in an assessment of where you think you still need to go to make sure the failings in the system as it concerns your agency won't record? >> i have not looked at the report recently but it obviously focused lot on the failures of the consolidated supervision program with the five largest investment banks in whic

hearing last week looking at internal management issues at the sec with testimony by sec chairman mary schapiro. you'll also here about the sec's budget and implementation of financial regulations during this two hour hearing. >> by reading the oversight government forum committee's mission statement. we secure two fundamental principles. first, americans have the right to know that the money washington takes from them is well spent. and, second, americans deserve an efficient, effective government that works for them. our duty on the oversight and government reform committee is to protect these rights. our column responsibility is to hold government accountable to tax pay years -- taxpayers because they have a right to know what they get from their government. we'll work in partnership with citizen watchdogs to deliver the facts to the american people and bring them genuine reform to the federal bureaucracy. this is the mission of government and oversight reform committee. we are here for a hearing entitled, a joint hearing between the financial management work force, between the financial ser

chairman schapiro, having served over two years on the financial services committee i have watched you and i think you are truly committed to doing the right thing. before you came back as chair under chairman cox, the number of actual enforcement actions at the sec was reduced by 80% in the number of disgorgement actions were reduced by 60%. more at home and be efficient in other places. but what i really would like to talk about just briefly, and i know senator durbin is coming to the floor, is just to give my heartfelt condolences to the people of japan, mr. president. we have prached all weekend my husband and my family and i in horror watching the scene unfold with the terrible catastrophe that struck japan on friday afternoon, followed the creak 9.0 now on the richter scale, followed by a terrible tsunami, a wave of water in some places 30-feet high that devastated coastal communities. some of the pictures are reminiscent of what happened to us on the gulf coast about five and a half years ago with a 30-foot wave coming on shore right into gulfport and biloxi, mississippi, and th