On September 14, 2017, the House passed H.R. 3354, which included the FY2018 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill in Division D. The Senate Appropriations Committee released an FY2018 FSGG chairmen's mark on November 20, 2017, but further action has yet to occur on the bill. Much of the federal government, including agencies covered by FSGG appropriations, has been operating for the first part of FY2018 under successive continuing resolutions (P.L. 115-56, P.L. 115-90, P.L. 115-96, P.L. 115-120, and P.L. 115-123), now effective through March 23, 2018.
Although financial services are a focus of the FSGG bill, the bill does not actually include funding for most of the financial service regulators. Instead, this funding comes through a variety of sources, including fees or assessments on regulated institutions. (See CRS Report R43391, Independence of Federal Financial Regulators: Structure, Funding, and Other Issues.)
Federal regulation of the banking industry is divided among the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In addition, credit unions are regulated by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and the housing government-sponsored enterprises are regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). None of these agencies receive their primary funding through the appropriations process.
Federal securities regulation is divided between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), both of which are funded through appropriations bills. CFTC funding is appropriated from the general fund, whereas the SEC funding is offset through fees collected by the SEC.
Although funding may not be provided by the FSGG bill, legislative provisions affecting financial regulation in general and some financial regulatory agencies specifically have often been included in FSGG bills.
The provisions in Titles IX and X of H.R. 3354 (Division D) are identical, or nearly identical, to some sections in the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10), which passed the House on June 8, 2017. (For more information, see CRS Report R44839, The Financial CHOICE Act in the 115th Congress: Selected Policy Issues.) Many of these provisions would amend the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. H.R. 10, however, contained a much broader range of provisions than H.R. 3354. The Senate FSGG mark has few similar provisions, although it would put the CFPB under the regular appropriations process.
Table 1 below contains a listing of the sections from H.R. 3354 and the corresponding sections of H.R. 10. In addition to several provisions providing regulatory relief in banking and securities markets, policy changes in the FSGG bill include the following:
Topic |
H.R. 3354, Division D |
H.R. 10 |
Repeals rules whose authority is eliminated by bill |
Section 902 |
Section 2 |
Repeals various Financial Stability Act provisions |
Section 903 |
Section 151 |
Brings financial regulators under appropriations |
Sections 904-907; Section 925 |
Title III, Subtitle E; Section 712 |
Disclosures |
Section 908 |
Section 426 |
Section 31 fees |
Section 909 |
Section 416 |
Investment fund research |
Section 910 |
Section 421 |
Government-business forum on capital formation |
Section 911 |
Section 446 |
Angel investors |
Section 912 |
Sections 451-452 |
Venture capital funds |
Section 913 |
Section 471 |
Manufactured housing |
Section 914 |
Sections 501-502 |
Deposit account termination |
Section 915 |
Section 511 |
FIRREA amendments |
Section 916 |
Section 512 |
Loans held in portfolio |
Section 917 |
Section 516 |
Small bank holding company policy |
Section 918 |
Section 526 |
Community Institution Mortgage Relief |
Section 919 |
Section 531 |
Regulations appropriate to business models |
Section 920 |
Section 546 |
Jobs for loan originators |
Section 921 |
Section 556 |
Small business loan data |
Section 922 |
Section 561 |
Depository institution records and disclosure |
Section 923 |
Section 576 |
Interest rate after loan transfer |
Section 924 |
Section 581 |
CFBP authority and budget changes |
Sections 925-929 |
Sections 712, 727, 733, 735, 737 |
Nonresidential risk retention |
Section 930 |
Section 842 |
Prohibition in single ballot |
Section 931 |
Section 845 |
Volcker Rule repeal |
Section 932 |
Section 901 |
Financial institution bankruptcy |
Title X |
Section 121-123 |
Source: Congressional Research Service.
Other provisions related to financial regulation include Section 114 of Division A, which would repeal the Department of Labor's 2016 Fiduciary Rule, and H.Amdt. 441, which would prohibit the use of appropriated funds toward enforcing the SEC's conflict minerals rule.