Beatty Joins Reps. Foster, Sherman in Introducing Legislation to Safeguard U.S. Financial System Housing

WASHINGTON, DC- Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03), Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL), and Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) yesterday introduced the Enhancing Financial Stability Research and Oversight Act. The legislation would establish minimum budget and staffing levels for the Office of Financial Research (OFR) and the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), adjusted for inflation, to prevent misguided attempts to undermine our top financial stability watch dogs.

The OFR and FSOC were created as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 to monitor for and address potential risks to the stability of the U.S. financial system. In 2018, the Trump Administration sought to cut funding for the OFR by 25 percent and FSOC by 15 percent, ultimately cutting staffing at OFR and FSOC by nearly 50 percent and 18 percent, respectively, throughout his term.

"The Office of Financial Research (OFR) and Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) provide essential information about the health of our financial markets and risks. This research-on issues ranging from home equity's effect on flood insurance to global banks' reactions to natural disasters-helps regulators, Congress, and financial markets plan for periods of instability," said Congresswoman Beatty."For these reasons, I am proud to join Congressman Foster in introducing the Enhancing Financial Stability Research and Oversight Act to ensure that these offices have the necessary funding to effectively forecast looming financial risks."

"I worked in Congress to help create the OFR and FSOC in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to monitor the U.S. financial system for vulnerabilities or risks that could lead to another economic crisis,"said Congressman Foster."For years, Republicans have tried to cut funding for these agencies, which would weaken their ability to protect our economic system. This legislation would help protect the important work these agencies do and insulate them from misguided efforts that only serve to put American consumers at risk."

"Created after the financial crisis of 2008, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) plays a critically important role in ensuring coordination among financial regulators and determining which non-banks should be designated as systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs)," Congressman Sherman said. "I am glad to join Rep. Foster in introducing the Enhancing Financial Stability Research and Oversight Act because maintaining appropriate budget and staffing levels for FSOC should be a nonpartisan matter of good governance: Financial institutions should have robust and expeditious review to determine whether they are SIFIs, and more importantly, the American people deserve to feel confident that the federal government is closely monitoring economic conditions and keeping a watchful eye on systemically-important institutions that become too big to fail."

A copy of the legislation is available here(link is external).

Congresswoman Beatty serves as Ranking Member of the Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions. Congressman Foster serves as Ranking Member of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy. Congressman Sherman serves as Ranking Member of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets.

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