No Reform Without Barney?

Over the course of the last week, Treasury has become a virtual proposed-legislation factory – cranking out a new draft bill every few days. I haven’t spent a lot of time processing this legislative incontinence because their previous attempt at legislation-proposing, the Resolution Authority for Systemically Significant Financial Companies Act of 2009, sank without a trace. Treasury and the White House agree on what regulatory reforms we need, but standing between them is Congress. Without a congressional sponsor, Treasury’s reform agenda can’t move forward.

Prospects look brighter for the current crop of proposals. Of the four, two have already made the leap from suggestion to proposed legislation. The difference appears to be Barney Frank. Frank’s sponsorship transformed the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 into HR 3126. Frank has also elevated the administration’s say-on-pay proposal to bill status (HR 3269). Both bills have been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services, which Frank chairs. Rumor has it that Frank also doomed the resolution authority bill when he changed his mind about giving it support. Now that he’s on board, I assume we can expect the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009 and the as-yet-unnamed credit rating agency bill to move forward, too.