The House subcommittee overseeing the SEC has no plans to allow the regulator to impose fees on financial advisors to increase exams, House Financial Services Capital Markets Subcommittee Chairman Scott Garrett told Financial Advisor on Thursday.

The New Jersey Congressman indicated his subcommittee will look at how wisely the SEC is allocating money to maximize advisor exams.

Rep. Maxine Waters, the lead Democrat on the full committee, said she will be introducing legislation again to permit the fees.

Acknowledging the bill’s chances are slim, Waters said, “The industry wants it. We have to show this is the kind of public policy we want to fight for.”

In his over two years as chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling has not allowed any bill sponsored by a Democrat to be considered in the committee.

A report released by Hensarling’s staff this morning attacked the SEC for inadequately examining financial advisors.

“The SEC has not put forth a viable plan to increase the number of advisors subject to examinations,” the report said.When told of the criticism, SEC spokesman John Nester declined comment.

The report suggested two possible ways to increase exams would be the use of third-party examiners and to shift mney from other sections of the agency.

The report said most examiners added by the SEC in recent years have focused on private fund advisors rather than financial advisors who serve retail customers.

However, most of the agency’s examiners examine multiple types of advisors and tens of millions of consumers are indirect investors in private funds through the money in those investment vehicles from pension funds and other institutional investors.

While SEC chairmen have long contended the agency’s budget doesn’t cost taxpayers money since it comes from transaction and registration fees, the committee argued investors and companies are harmed because every dollar spent to fund the SEC means one dollar less spent on capital formation. 

Noting increased computer spending has helped the regulator, the committee faulted the SEC for failing to set up a single system to allow staffers to review broker-dealer Focus reports on their net capital positions and investment advisor Forms ADV.

The committee, which has been no champion of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, praised the agency in the report for actions to protect service members.

But on the attack, the review described the regulator’s $582 million for the current year and $606 million for the next as “excessive.”