House GOP Blocks Funds for Wall Street Regulators
img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-18116" title="congress" src="/files/wxrimport/2010-10/congress1.jpg" alt="" width="205" height="105" /><The Hill reports:
Lawmakers decided against boosting short-terms funds for financial agencies this week, a move that may foreshadow a lengthy partisan battle over financing the Wall Street overhaul law.
Congress approved an emergency spending bill on Wednesday to keep the government running until Dec. 3, but lawmakers denied requests for more money from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Treasury Department.
The three offices had requested additional funding to hire more employees, buy computers and add office space as they put into place some of the most sweeping new financial regulations in decades. President Obama signed the “Dodd-Frank” financial overhaul law in July, and regulators have started drafting new rules governing the $615 trillion derivatives market, the securitization industry and the process for dissolving failing firms.
The request for additional short-term money ran into tough criticism from Republicans, who sought a “clean” spending bill without the increases.
House Republicans opposed the Obama administration’s request for money for the Treasury Department because it creates a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with oversight of consumer products, including home loans and credit cards.
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