Career staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission providedthe Department of Labor “substantial technical assistance” as DOLcrafted its proposed fiduciary rule, according totestimony SEC Chair Mary Jo White gave lawmakers on a House ofRepresentatives subcommittee.

Her comment was made in response to questions from Rep. TomGraves, R-Georgia, who noted a recent report from a Senate committeethat alleged DOL ignored input from SEC staff as the fiduciaryproposal was drafted.

White explained that SEC advised DOL staff on various models ofhow broker-dealers are compensated on their services.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, also raised questions aboutDOL’s proposed fiduciary rule, andcalled the prospect of whether or not the SEC and DOL will createseparate new fiduciary standards the “800-pound gorilla” in theroom.

Section 913 of Dodd-Frank mandated that the SEC study the needfor a new uniform fiduciary standard, but did not mandate theagency create a new rule.

On more than one occasion during the subcommittee hearing, ChairWhite said she believed the SEC should move forward in writing anew fiduciary standard, and said that if the SEC does create a newstandard, the objective would be to make it as “compatible aspossible” with the DOL’s rule.

Read: Our coverage on the DOL fiduciaryrule

But she cautioned the SEC is a long way from issuing a new rule,as the decision to do so will require at least the support of twoother SEC commissioners.

“It will be hard, and not quick to do this well,” noted White,who said the SEC has been studying the need for a new fiduciarystandard for a number of years.

Though the two agencies have different statutory mandates, Whitesaid it is conceivable that each could write its own standard, asthe SEC currently has parallel rules with other financialregulators that are not exactly identical.

The DOL’s proposal is expected to befinalized as early as next week. Under the proposed version,advisors to 401(k) plans with fewer than 100 participants andadvisors to IRA owners will be required to effectively operate asfiduciaries.

The proposal does not outlaw sales of commission-based financialproducts, but it does create extensive new disclosure requirementsthat many stakeholders say will make commission sales all butobsolete.

Opponents of the DOL’s rule say the cost of complying with therule will be passed on to investors, and that the fee-based modelof compensation the rule clearly favors will price small accountsout of the advisory market.

Beyond articulating her desire for the SEC to move forward incrafting its own rule, White did not address specifics of the DOL’sproposal. But she did say that, “if we ended up depriving retailinvestors of reliable, affordable advice, then we will have failedin our purpose.”

The SEC is requesting $1.781 billion for next year’s budget, an11 percent increase over last year’s. The increased budget would goin part to funding 127 new exam positions, and 52 new enforcementpositions, White said.