Battle brewing over SEC funding

President Obama's budget includes a 28 percent funding increase for the Securities and Exchange Commission, exempting the agency from a five-year spending freeze. The proposed $1.4 billion is a $316 million increase from 2010 - nickel and dime stuff considering that the overall budget weighs in at $3.73 trillion. It's also quite reasonable, given the SEC's greater role in enforcing the financial reform legislation - not to mention its ongoing enforcement efforts. But don't tell that to those pesky Republicans, who want $25 million cut from what hasn't been spent yet in the SEC's 2011 budget. Since Congress failed to pass a budget, the government is operating on a short-term funding measure that's set to expire in early March. In a word, nutty. (MarketWatch)