As Mark Twain famously said, "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." The same can be said for about the rumors of the death of money market reform, following the SEC's announcement that it's leaders could not reach consensus on the topic. Determined to resuscitate the initiative, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn)., a member of the Senate Banking Committee, penned a September 14, 2012 letter to the SEC urging the Commission to continue pursuit of money market fund reform to protect taxpayers from a potential bailout. Corker believes that, despite the differences of opinion on amongst the Commissioners, sufficient common ground exists to build on the initial money fund reform proposal from Chairman Mary Schapiro.

The need for further regulations governing money market funds was once again hotly debated at Senate Banking Committee hearings last week.  At the hearings, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reiterated his concerns that the 2010 money market reforms enacted by the SEC just do not go far enough, and doubled down on his commitment to see the SEC enact further measures, saying: "My own judgment is that the SEC needs to go further. They can go further. And we should get on with the business of letting them expose to the world, to the markets, a set of options that the world can comment on." Senator Corker added that he believed that the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) could act if the SEC fails to move forward with further money market fund reforms.

At the same time, however, Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) argued that the 2010 reforms may have been sufficient and questioned whether money market funds are truly susceptible to runs and pose systematic risks. Toomey worries, he says, that the reforms being considered by the SEC are unworkable and could put money market funds out of business.