WASHINGTON — Lawmakers and regulators said Saturday that an ambitious plan by the Treasury Department to revamp the decades-old financial regulatory structure could require congressional action over several years and would not help the economy out of its current credit crisis.
Battle lines are already forming over Treasury’s major proposals even though top officials have just begun to digest the 200-page regulatory blueprint, which was released to them late Friday night.
Some Democrats and consumer groups criticized the plan for serving the needs of financial markets but not consumers. Former and current regulators hinted at a likely fight over proposals to strip authority from agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission. And the head of another imperiled body, the Office of Thrift Supervision, was dismissive of the Treasury blueprint in an e-mail Friday to his employees.
Other officials worried whether the effort to streamline financial oversight would lead to a massive disruption and elimination of positions across the federal government.
Though recent upheaval on Wall Street has put Treasury’s efforts in the spotlight, work on the blueprint began a year ago, before the downturn in credit markets, and the plan was never envisioned to be an emergency cure for the ills threatening the economy. The proposed changes to the regulatory system were instead meant to prevent financial crises like today’s from recurring.
The plan, scheduled to be officially unveiled Monday by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr., got a mixed reception on Capitol Hill, with differences of opinion emerging within the ranks of Democrats and Republicans.
Some Democrats in Congress praised the blueprint, saying it charts a clear course for broader regulation of the nation’s financial markets. While some elements don’t go as far as many Democrats would like, they said the proposal changes the terms of the discussion over whether to increase government oversight on Wall Street.
“The debate now is: We have this wholly new financial system, we need much better regulation, how do we do it?” said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. “I mean, you’ve got the secretary of the Treasury, the former head of Goldman Sachs, acknowledging that regulation is good for financial markets and it’s not going to kill them. That’s very significant.”
But Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, declined to give the administration credit for the proposals, saying its earlier inaction was responsible for the financial problems.
“Regrettably, the administration’s blueprint, while deserving of careful consideration, would do little if anything to alleviate the current crisis — which was brought on by a failure of will,” Dodd said in a statement.
Some key Republicans cheered the plan. “I commend the administration and Secretary Paulson for regulatory restructuring and reform that is very comprehensive in its potential impact,” said Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Financial Services Committee.
He called for swift congressional action to implement several reforms. But it was unclear whether Republicans would approve proposals recommending that agencies, such as the Federal Reserve, gain sweeping powers over Wall Street.
Several influential Republicans, including Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, declined to comment on the initiatives.
Treasury officials hope Congress will this year pass at least one proposal, the creation of a Mortgage Origination Commission. But even if this effort succeeds at establishing tough, uniform standards for mortgage brokers and lenders, it would do little to help people who were exploited by unsavory or incompetent mortgage brokers during 2005 or 2006.
