“After criticism that its budget proposals for the Securities and Exchange Commission were inadequate, the White House announced Monday the details of what officials said was the largest proposed budget increase in the history of the agency,” writes Stephen Labaton in today’s New York Times.

“Making good on a pledge by President Bush in December, the White House said it would seek a budget of $842 million for the year beginning Oct. 1, or 92 percent above what Congress appropriated last year. The proposal makes the commission one of the handful of government agencies to receive a significant increase, along with the Pentagon and the new Department of Homeland Security.”

“S.E.C. officials said that the proposed increase would enable the commission to add at least 710 new jobs to the S.E.C.’s staff of 3,100.”

“The proposal came after many months of criticism of the White House and Harvey L. Pitt, the chairman of the commission, by investor groups and Democrats who said they had failed to respond to the corporate corruption scandals with adequate budget increases for the agency.”

“The White House said that with the increase, ‘the S.E.C. will be able to hire more accountants, attorneys, and examiners to protect investors, root out fraud, and instill corporate responsibility.’ “

“But Democrats noted that if Congress did not provide a substantial budget increase for the current fiscal year, the agency will be unable to begin making most of the new hires for many months. Some Democrats also said that that they expected that the administration’s proposal would ultimately fall victim to rising deficits and competing costs, most notably the war in Iraq; the White House did not provide new budget estimates for any war today.”

“The past year of corporate scandals illustrated fundamental problems at the commission that experts say stemmed, in part, from inadequate resources and manpower. The S.E.C.’s enforcement and compliance divisions have been understaffed and unable to open investigations that officials say are necessary. The corporation finance division has been unable to keep up with a deluge of corporate filings. The market regulation division has had little success in winning approval for rules regulating how stock markets set prices.”