Protecting the Independent Funding of the Office of Financial Research Act

Bill: 115-hr-2750
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Foster, Bill [D-IL-11]
Introduced: 2017-05-26
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Banking and financial institutions regulation

Department of the Treasury

Executive agency funding and structure

Financial crises and stabilization

Government information and archives
Latest action: action_date: 2017-05-26
text: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-05-26
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Protecting the Independent Funding of the Office of Financial Research Act</strong></p> <p>This bill amends the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to give the Director of the Office of Financial Research (OFR) within the Department of the Treasury sole discretion over the OFR's annual budget, which shall in any given year be not less than the OFR's FY2017 budget.</p>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2750 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 26, 2017 Mr. Foster (for himself and Ms. Maxine Waters of California ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To amend the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to preserve the independent funding the Office of Financial Research.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting the Independent Funding of the Office of Financial Research Act . 2. Preserving independent funding The Financial Stability Act of 2010 ( 12 U.S.C. 5311 et seq.) is amended— (1) in section 152— (A) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows: (c) Budget (1) In general The Director shall have sole discretion to establish the annual budget of the Office. (2) Minimum Funding Level of the Budget The annual budget of the Office in any given fiscal year shall not be less than a dollar amount equal to the budget of the Office in fiscal year 2017. (3) Adjustment of Minimum Funding Level The dollar amount referred to in paragraph (2) shall be adjusted annually by the Director, using the percent increase, if any, in the employment cost index for total compensation for State and local government workers published by the Federal Government, or the successor index thereto, for the 12-month period ending September 30 of the year preceding the annual budget. ; and (B) in subsection (d), by striking , in consultation with the Chairperson, each place such term appears; (C) in subsection (h), by striking , in consultation with the Chairperson, ; and (D) in subsection (i), by striking , in consultation with the Chairperson, ; (2) in section 155— (A) in subsection (d), by inserting before the period the following: , as determined in the sole discretion of the Director ; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (e) Reviewability Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, the funding pursuant to subsection (d) shall not be subject to review by the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate. (f) Preservation of the Office of Financial Research’s independence Nothing in this section shall authorize the Secretary to influence the budget or the number or compensation of employees of the Office. .