WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Financial market regulators
would get big boosts to their fiscal 2012 budgets to help them
implement the Dodd-Frank financial oversight law under a bill
approved by the Senate Appropriations financial services
subcommittee on Wednesday.
The bill would match a request by the Obama administration
to give the Securities and Exchange Commission a fiscal 2012
budget of $1.407 billion, up about 19 percent from the agency's
prior-year budget.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission would receive $240
million, also roughly a 19 percent boost from its fiscal 2011
budget. The total falls short of the original request by the
president for a $308 million fiscal 2012 budget.
Both provisions are part of a larger $21.7 billion
financial services spending package that would fund the federal
courts and a wide range of agencies including the Treasury
Department and Small Business Administration.
To find money to raise the two regulators' budgets, the
bill would make cuts in other areas, including slashing the
Internal Revenue Service's budget by $458.8 million.
The full Senate Appropriations Committee is now slated to
consider any potential changes and vote on the bill late on
Thursday.
"My top priority again this year is to continue to address
the resource needs of two of our nation's premier financial
regulatory agencies," said the panel's chairman, Democratic
Senator Richard Durbin. "As a result of the historic enactment
of the comprehensive Dodd-Frank Act last year, these two
agencies acquired substantially expanded responsibilities."
The proposed budget increases for the two market regulators
would come as the agencies rush to finish implementing more
than 100 new regulations required by the Dodd-Frank law. The
2012 fiscal year begins on Oct 1.
But the funding boosts for the agencies sought by Senate
Democrats face an uncertain future due to strong opposition
from U.S. House Republicans who are unhappy with many
provisions in Dodd-Frank and hope to stifle its
implementation.
Under Dodd-Frank, the CFTC and SEC gained sweeping new
powers to police the nearly $600 trillion over-the-counter
derivatives market. The SEC additionally won more authority to
regulate hedge funds, credit-rating agencies and municipal
advisers.
In June, the House Appropriations Committee refused the
Obama administration's request for a bump in the SEC's funding
and voted to keep the agency's budget unchanged in fiscal 2012
at $1.185 billion. The bill has not yet been sent to the House
floor for a vote.
The House Appropriations Committee also in May rebuffed the
Obama administration's request to raise the CFTC's budget,
voting instead to lower it to $171.9 million for fiscal 2012.
The bill was approved by the full House in June.
In an interview on Wednesday, Durbin acknowledged the
future funding for both agencies -- in particular the CFTC --
remains a big unknown.
"There has been pushback against Chairman (Gary) Gensler.
Some believe he has been too aggressive. And I think that might
be manifested in the number," he said.
Pushback against the CFTC is also likely to surface during
the full committee debate on the spending bill on Thursday.
Senator Jerry Moran, the ranking Republican on the Senate
Appropriations financial services subcommittee, said on
Wednesday he has serious reservations about the proposed
funding level.
"I believe the CFTC has failed to prioritize in its
rulemaking process," he said. "I believe this bill is an
opportunity for us to try to get the CFTC to change their
methodology."
Both the SEC and the CFTC have previously told Congress
they have the resources to complete the Dodd-Frank rule-writing
process, but once it comes time to implement the law, they will
need better technology and increased manpower.
The SEC has urged Congress to approve a budget increase,
especially because a provision in Dodd-Frank allows the agency
to be deficit-neutral by offsetting congressional
appropriations through the fees it charges the financial
industry.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by
Christopher Doering)
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