GOP Members of HFSC to Dodd-Frank Regulators: SLOW DOWN
Led by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL), 34 of the committee’s Republicans sent a letter to the six agency heads charged with implementing the Dodd-Frank Act stating that the members are “troubled by the volume and pace of rulemakings” under the Act. Citing the sheer number of rules, the diverse array of issue areas, and the truncated comment periods, the members are concerned that businesses and consumers will not have adequate opportunity to provide meaningful input into the process. The current comment periods are averaging 30-45 days as opposed to the typical 60 day periods that agencies usually allow for significant rules. The rushed time frames also cause the lawmakers to worry that the “consistency of rules across agencies” will be compromised and that the rules will not contain adequate regulatory flexibility for small businesses. The letter poses eight detailed questions to the financial regulators – the Treasury, Federal Reserve, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Comptroller of the Currency – and asks for their responses no later than March 25, 2011.
Click here for the full text of the letter.
