Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro told a congressional panel Thursday that she hadn’t realized how much the agency’s credibility could be harmed by former general counsel David Becker’s role in handling the Bernard Madoff case.

Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform took turns grilling Schapiro about the SEC allowing Becker to attempt to recover money for Madoff victims despite his family’s investment of $2 million with the imprisoned swindler.