American Banker: Putting Agencies on Budget Could Lead to ‘Whipsaw’ Regulation

Here (behind paywall).  The CFPB is one of the agencies that House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling's bill would ubject to the appropriation process.  Excerpt from the article:

"There are many things to like about Chairman Hensarling's bill, particularly its tough capital requirements," [former FDCIC head Sheila] Bair said. "However, subjecting the banking agencies to congressional appropriations is not a good idea. Past history has shown that appropriations bills present ripe opportunities for industry lobbyists to wreak havoc with the funding resources of their overseers."

The drive to subject the agencies to appropriations is relatively recent. A decade ago, Republicans led the charge to push the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight – then the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – to be independently funded.

At the time, Fannie and Freddie were able to call on allies in Congress to wreak havoc with OFHEO's funding, hampering its ability to oversee the government-sponsored enterprises. * * *

* * * Many point to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, both of which have been limited by congressional battles over their budgets. * * *

During testimony Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee, SEC Chair Mary Jo White said the lack of funding has slowed rulemaking and that the agency is being outspent on the IT side by the firms it regulates.

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