US SEC chief: Gov't shutdown would reduce agency to 'skeletal' staff

Wall Street's top regulator on Wednesday told lawmakers that a shutdown of the federal government would reduce his agency's staffing to "skeletal" levels.

"We'll be down to a skeletal staff," Chair Gary Gensler said during testimony before the House of Representatives. "The public ... won't have somebody overseeing the market for companies that want to go public."

According to the agency's contingency planning, only about 440 of the agency's 4,600 employees would remain on hand to perform essentially functions.