Today at 11:30 a.m. ET, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, President Obama is scheduled to deliver remarks and sign into law the 2,315-page landmark rewrite of the financial regulatory and Wall Street reform.
Yet even before the bill is signed into law, administration and other officials are already bracing themselves for the years of work that they anticipate will be required for the federal government to fully implement the sweeping reforms.
As reported by TheHill.com, senior administration officials said the legislation provides a “frame” for the new regulatory landscape, but the full force of the rewrite hinges on how regulators interpret their new powers in the comings months and years.
Officials noted it will take time to start up organizations like the consumer financial protection bureau created by the legislation.
“While some things start sooner than later, we should expect that this is going to be done thoughtfully and carefully, and that it will take time,” said Diana Farrell, deputy national economic adviser.
Federal agencies are already preparing for a massive hiring increase. Yesterday, S.E.C Chairman Mary Schapiro, during her Testimony Concerning Oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Evaluating Present Reforms and Future Challenges, which she gave before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, stated that the Commission expects to hire approximately 800 new positions during the course of the implementation.
“The President’s proposed FY 2011 budget included a request for $24 million to begin implementation of the President’s financial reform proposal,” stated Chairman Schapiro. “With the specific provisions of the legislation in place, we have been working to develop estimates of the resources that will be needed to achieve the full implementation of Congress’ regulatory reform mandate. While the dollar cost of full implementation will depend greatly on the effective date of new rules, the timing of hiring, and other factors, we currently estimate that the SEC will need to add approximately 800 new positions over time in order to carry out the new or expanded responsibilities given to the agency by the legislation.”