Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., applauded the Senate for unanimously approving on Thursday a bill he cosponsored that would reduce investor fees.

"We need to encourage investment. It strengthens our economy. But excessive federal fees amount to an extra tax that is being pulled out of investors' pockets and funneled into the general federal treasury. Our economy, country and the individual investors would be better off if we let them decide how to spend their money," said Enzi.

S. 143, the Competitive Market Supervision Act, would work to reduce securities transaction and registration fees collected by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by as much as $8.9 billion over five years. The bill would set the fees based on what the SEC needs to operate, saving investors hundreds of millions of dollars while at the same time providing the funds necessary for the agency to oversee our financial markets.

The bill must still be passed by the House and signed by the President before it becomes law.