OPM urges Congress to reject SEC pay raise

The Office of Personnel Management has urged members of Congress to reject pending legislation that would provide a special pay raise for employees at the Securities and Exchange Commission. At issue is a portion of H.R. 1088, a bill designed to reduce fees paid by investors to the SEC. Section 8 of the bill would allow the agency to make its compensation commensurate with the salaries paid at other financial regulatory agencies. House Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ill., objects to the measure because he says the SEC has not convinced him that it needs an across-the-board salary increase. In a letter sent Tuesday to Burton, OPM Acting Director Steve Cohen agreed that the agency has recruitment and retention problems, but said the pending legislation isn't the right way to solve those issues. "We recognize that turnover remains a major concern for the commission, which plays a critical role in safeguarding our nation's financial markets," Cohen said in the letter. But Cohen argued that the pending legislation is a piecemeal way of dealing with workforce issues. Rather, "all compensation flexibility tools available under current law should be explored," Cohen said in the letter. OPM recommended that SEC wait for more information before using legislation to correct its pay problems. A pending General Accounting Office study on the SEC pay raise will help determine whether the agency's recruitment and retention problems are due only to inadequate compensation, Cohen said. In addition, more data on recruitment and retention problems for occupations other than attorneys, accountants and examiners will shed more light on the agency's situation, he argued. Until that data is reviewed, legislation is not the answer, Cohen said.