P.M. BRIEFING : Dodd Backs More Power for SEC

WASHINGTON — Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) said today he favors giving the Securities and Exchange Commission authority to regulate stock index futures.

Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee’s subcommittee on securities, said he doesn’t want to “dismember” the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which currently oversees stock index futures.

Rather, he told a news conference in his Senate office, “My inclination is to be supportive of taking stock index futures and moving them over under the jurisdiction of the SEC.”

Dodd conceded that such a move would meet opposition by congressional supporters of the CFTC, which is under the control of House and Senate agriculture committees.

While some House members are exploring possible legislation to merge the agencies into one unit, Dodd called that plan “an interesting discussion but I certainly haven’t drawn any conclusion that it makes any sense at all.”