House Republicans released an appropriations bill Wednesday that would slash funding for financial services agencies by 9% in 2012.
The bill, released by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services, would provide $19.9 billion in funding for the agencies, including the Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, IRS, Small Business Administration and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It would provide $2 billion less than fiscal year 2011, and $6 billion, or 23%, less than the Obama administration requested.
The measure also would terminate the Treasury's Home Affordable Modification Program, a program disliked by many in the GOP.
The subcommittee will hold a hearing on the proposed legislation Thursday.
The bill would cap mandatory funds for the CFPB at $200 million — the current limit is $600 million — and subject it to the annual appropriations process beginning in 2013. The bureau currently receives a percentage of the Federal Reserve budget and is independent of the appropriations process.
"This new agency created by the Dodd-Frank legislation has not yet been fully constituted and many questions remain as to its authority and mission," the subcommittee said in a press release.
Additionally, the legislation limits funding for the Office of Financial Stability, which administers the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
