Stein, Piwowar confirmed to SEC; White gets full term

Former U.S. Senate aides Michael Piwowar and Kara M. Stein won confirmation as members of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The current SEC chairman Mary Jo White was also confirmed to a full term that expires June 5, 2019. Senators backed the nominations today by unanimous consent in the final hours before the chamber adjourned for its summer recess. President Barack Obama nominated Stein and Piwowar on May 23 and they were approved by the Senate Banking Committee on July 18. Stein, 49, and Piwowar, 45, join the SEC as it adapts to a new agenda under White, who says the agency's rulemaking priorities are prescribed by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 and the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. Stein replaces Elisse B. Walter as a Democratic commissioner and Piwowar succeeds Republican Troy A. Paredes on the five-member commission. Stein served as a top aide to Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, and Piwowar was the Banking Committee's chief Republican economist. White had previously been confirmed to fill out the term of former SEC chairman Mary Schapiro that expired in June 2014. (Bloomberg News)