Kathleen L. Casey
Securities and Exchange Commissioner (since July 2006)
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A lawyer with a lengthy career on Capitol Hill, Casey was appointed by President George W. Bush to become a Republican commissioner on the Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2006. Her term ends in 2011. Casey filled the seat of Republican Cynthia Glassman.
Before her appointment, Casey spent 13 years on the Hill, most recently as the GOP staff director and counsel for the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee for former Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.).
- Career History: Staff director and counsel, U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee (2003 to 2006); Legislative Director and Chief of Staff, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) (1996 to 2003); Staff Director, U.S. Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Regulatory Relief for the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee (1994 to 1996)
- Birthday: April 12, 1966
- Hometown: Tripoli, Libya
- Alma Mater: Pennsylvania State University, B.A. (International Politics), 1988; George Mason University, J.D., 1993
Born on a military base in Tripoli, Libya, in 1963, Casey graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor's degree in international politics in 1988 and from George Mason University's law school in 1993. She became a member of Virginia and the District of Columbia's bars.
She began her political career in 1993 as a legislative assistant to Shelby. In 1994, Casey was promoted to staff director on the Senate Banking Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Regulatory Relief. Primarily, Casey worked on the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and helped prepare for the Whitewater special investigation during President Bill Clinton's tenure.
Casey has usually weighed in on the side of free market principles, observers say. Her view is that "the market is the best regulator," Wayne A. Abernathy, executive director of the American Bankers Association in Washington, D.C. and a former U.S. Treasury official, told The Los Angeles Times. "That doesn't mean she's opposed to any regulation, but when in doubt, her view is, 'Let's see what the market can do first.'"
At her confirmation hearings in 2006, Casey told Senate Banking Committee members that she believed in letting "market forces work" to the extent possible, but that she also realizes that "meaningful disclosure and firm but fair enforcement are key components of the securities regulatory regime," according to The Bond Buyer.
In Washington, Casey has many connections and allies from her many years in Congress. She worked under Shelby, the former Senate Banking Committee chairman, and Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.), who co-authored the Sarbanes-Oxley law that dramatically overhauled the securities standards for public company boards and accounting firms.
Although Casey has been heavily involved in Republican Party politics, she does not have a record of GOP campaign contributions.
- http://www.onwallstreet.com/asset/article-print/527604/printPage.html
- http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/financial-groups-welcome-bush-sec/story.aspx?guid=%7B25C12DC3-AA7C-4B28-8471-D6B0945E3E92%7D
- Hume, Lynn, "Senate Confirms Casey for Glassman's SEC Post," The Bond Buyer, July 19, 2006
- http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/19/business/fi-wrap19.1
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