By Michael R. Crittenden
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Obama administration will continue to press Congress to move quickly on overhauling regulation of the financial system, eager to put in place structures that will help in future panics, an administration official said Tuesday.
The official said the administration still believes that moving legislation sooner will ensure that better measures are enacted. Waiting too long will allow public attention on problems laid bare by last year's financial crisis to wane, and allow political opponents of an overhaul to water it down so it is ineffective, the official said.
Key to that effort will be the legislation currently moving through the House and soon to be introduced in the Senate. Though a number of differences exist between the two chambers and the administration's proposals, the official said the core principles being considered by the parties are generally in harmony.
That assessment includes legislation soon to be introduced by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who chairs the Senate Banking Committee and is expected to circulate a draft of his overhaul proposals as early as next week. The official, who had been briefed on the Dodd legislation, said the central provisions on systemic risk and consumer protection are a positive place for the Senate to start.
That doesn't mean that enacting wholesale reforms will be easy. The administration's expectation is that the legislation currently winding its way through Congress will undergo a number of changes before it reaches its final form and that it could move away from the administration's proposals, the official said.
One area where there doesn't appear to be room for negotiation is on the administration's proposal to create an agency to regulate the financial products available to consumers. Republicans, and some Democrats, have said they are wary of such an agency, but the official said the administration wouldn't accept a weak or watered-down version of its proposal. Changes already made by the House Financial Services Committee, including an exemption for some smaller banks, are workable, the official said.
-By Michael R. Crittenden, Dow Jones Newswires; 202 862 9273; michael.crittenden@dowjones.com
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Publié le 04 novembre 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones