US bill aims to boost FBI, SEC fraud investigators

WASHINGTON, Jan 22 - Legislation to target Wall Street fraud and white-collar crime by hiring hundreds more FBI agents, federal prosecutors and securities enforcement lawyers was introduced by two senior senators on Thursday.

Democrat Charles Schumer of New York and Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama said their bill would help restore investor trust in the U.S. financial system by spending $110 million to hire new investigators and lawyers.

"Fundamentally, our current economic crisis is one of confidence, which underpins our entire financial system. This foundation of trust has been badly shaken by greed, but is further eroded by fraud," Shelby said in a statement.

Prosecution of financial fraud fell by 48 percent from 2000 to 2007 because of budget and hiring freezes at many U.S. attorney offices throughout the country, the senators said.

The $110 million sought in the bill could be offset by a resulting increase in fines by the Securities and Exchange Commission and restitution from criminal cases launched by the new law enforcement officials, they said.

The legislation would authorize $80 million for 500 new FBI agents, $20 million for 100 investigators at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and $10 million for 50 new assistant U.S. attorneys.

Shelby is the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, and Schumer is the chairman of congress' Joint Economic Committee.