WASHINGTON — The White House said Wednesday that President Obama would not sign any appropriations bill that would undermine the Dodd-Frank Act through funding limits.
The administration said it "strongly opposes" a number of provisions in a House budget bill to slash funding for financial services agencies implementing the law by 9% in 2012. It said the bill, which funds the Treasury Department, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Securities and Exchange Commission, among others, "undermines core government functions, investments key to economic growth and job creation, as well as national security."
The administration's statement, released by the Office of Management and Budget, said the proposed funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and Financial Research Fund was too low. And it objected to a provision that would cap the CFPB's budget at $200 million — compared with the president's $329 million request — and subject it to the appropriations process.
"Not only would the bill's funding limitation severely curtail hiring and start-up investments that are already underway, but it would also impede supervision, limit the bureau's consumer response services, prevent the ramping up of citizen financial literacy improvements and delay the implementation of financial protection programs for older Americans," the administration said.
