A statutory deadline of April 21, 2011 had been imposed by Congress for the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) to issue rules for a whistleblower program. The SEC has not yet announced when the final rules of the program, a product of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, are to be considered.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., has stated that the law does not indicate that the deadlines are "drop-dead." "There is no penalty for not meeting the deadline," Mr. Frank said during a webinar sponsored by the National LGBT Bar Association. "There's no gun at their heads. Nobody gets fired." Mr. Frank is the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. He has communicated that if agencies need to have more time to develop rules based on the legislation, he is comfortable with the postponement of implementation of some of the provisions.
The type of timeline adjustment that Mr. Frank approves include the SEC's postponement to the first quarter of 2012 the rule requiring investment advisers with $25 million to $100 million in assets to switch their registration from the SEC to their states. However, there are other delays that are opposed by the Democratic Representative from Massachusetts.
Specifically, Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee have introduced a bill that would delay implementation of the Dodd-Frank derivatives rules until December of 2012. The Republicans argue that this extra time would allow regulators more time to meet objectives, consider costs, benefits and effects on the market. Mr. Frank considers this a stall in the event that a GOP president and Senate majority could do away with the provisions.
Republicans feel that the law is being implemented too quickly. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee stated, "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."
Mr. Frank countered, "I think they're making a political and economic mistake. We think it forces changes that are overwhelmingly constructive."
Sources:
SEC will Miss Deadline for Whistleblower Rules, The Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2011.
No gun at regulators' heads to hit Dodd-Frank deadlines: Barney Frank, InvestmentNews, April 26, 2011
