Senate Panel OKs Bush SEC Nominee

The Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved the nomination of securities lawyer Harvey Pitt to be chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, sending his name to the full Senate for confirmation.

The favorable vote, which was expected, came shortly before Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s twice-yearly testimony to the panel on the state of the economy.

Pitt, at his confirmation hearing last Thursday, planted himself squarely in the Republican tradition of favoring eased government regulation. He told the committee that securities laws must be reviewed because many are obsolete and impose an unfair burden on Wall Street and other market participants.

At the same time, Pitt--who has represented Wall Street figures such as insider trader Ivan Boesky, major brokerage houses, the New York Stock Exchange, Big Five accounting firms and corporate executives before the SEC--promised to vigilantly enforce rules protecting investors.

The Banking Committee technically approved Pitt’s nomination to a six-year term as an SEC commissioner, replacing Clinton appointee Paul Carey, a Democrat, who died last month. Since Bush has said he would designate Pitt as chairman if he is confirmed as a commissioner, the panel’s action effectively approved Pitt as SEC head.

Laura Unger, the sole Republican commissioner, has been acting head of the SEC since Arthur Levitt--the chairman through much of the Clinton administration--left in February.

Pitt’s appointment still leaves the SEC two commissioners shy of its full complement of five.