Chairman Bachus: Speed of Dodd-Frank Rules “No Excuse” to Limit Public Comment

April 19, 2011

WASHINGTON– Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus issued the following comment in response to Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin’s defense of the rapid pace of the Dodd-Frank Act rulemaking process.  In early March, all Republican members of the Committee wrote to regulators to express their concerns about the volume and pace of rulemakings under Dodd-Frank.

Chairman Bachus said, “All of us know that on the highway ‘speed kills.’  Speed can also kill jobs when Washington rushes sweeping regulations into place without giving the public adequate time to comment. The comment period for Dodd-Frank rules has sometimes been barely 30 days.  At the current breakneck pace, it is difficult for individual firms – especially small businesses – and the public at large to meaningfully participate and offer their insights and observations.  The implementation of the massive Dodd-Frank Act may be daunting for regulators, it may be intimidating for them, but that’s no excuse to limit the public’s participation and abandon sound rulemaking practices.”

Source: financialservices.house.gov