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GOP memo: Wall Street reform to cost agencies $1 billion in first year

By Peter Schroeder - 03/28/11 04:28 PM ET

House Republicans say implementing the Dodd-Frank financial reform law will cost agencies nearly $1 billion this year. 

The bill will also require the federal government to hire thousands of new workers, according to a memo being circulated among House Republicans that was obtained by The Hill. 

First-year costs for the 11 agencies charged with implementing the Wall Street overhaul will reach about $974 million, the memo states. The memo comes two days before the House Financial Services Committee's oversight subcommittee will explore Dodd-Frank costs.

In addition to new costs, more than 2,800 full-time employees will need to be hired to handle new responsibilities, according to the memo.

On its own, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which has been hotly contested by Republicans, would require up to 1,225 hires to get up and running.

However, not all of those costs will have to be paid by taxpayers. Six of the 11 agencies affected by Dodd-Frank have budgets that are fully or partially funded by fees and other assessments on companies monitored by the agencies. Another is financed by offsetting costs, and another is fully funded by funds from another agency. Just three are funded via appropriations.

For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has its budget set by Congress, but actually funds itself by assessing fees on financial transactions. The SEC, which has been handed major new responsibilities under Dodd-Frank, has requested an increased budget for fiscal 2012, but a spending package approved by House Republicans would instead cut it.

The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) receives all its funding from the Federal Reserve, which in turn obtains its funding from assessments and other non-taxpayer revenue.