Sponsors (6)
The bill strengthens U.S. systemic-risk monitoring by guaranteeing independent, minimum funding and staffing for the OFR and FSOC staff, but does so at the cost of reduced congressional oversight, concentrated administrative control, less flexibility, and higher long-term costs for taxpayers and financial institutions.
Financial regulators, financial institutions, and taxpayers: receive guaranteed, minimum funding and staffing for the Office of Financial Research (OFR) and FSOC staff (including at least 231 FTEs for OFR and 48 FTEs for Council staff), providing stable, continuous capacity for systemic risk monitoring and coordination.
Federal employees in the OFR and the broader financial oversight structure and financial institutions: have OFR operational independence preserved by restricting Secretary influence over OFR budget, staffing, and compensation decisions, protecting analytical autonomy.
FSOC, financial institutions, and taxpayers: gain faster ability to respond to emerging risks because transferred funds are made immediately available to the Council staff, improving responsiveness during stress events.
Taxpayers and financial institutions: face a durable increase in ongoing costs because the bill locks in minimum funding/staffing floors and ties them to compensation inflation, creating higher long-term fiscal obligations.
Taxpayers and financial institutions: lose some congressional scrutiny because the bill limits Appropriations Committees' ability to review certain OFR funding, reducing legislative oversight of those expenditures.
Federal employees and financial institutions: may face governance risks because budget and staffing control is concentrated in the OFR Director, increasing the potential for unilateral decisions and weaker internal checks.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Establishes OFR budget and staffing minimums, gives the OFR Director sole budget control, and mandates an annual OFR-to-FSOC transfer indexed to an employment cost index.
Official title: To amend the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to preserve the independent funding in the Office of Financial Research, to establish minimum staffing levels for the Financial Stability Oversight Council, to establish minimum funding levels for such staff, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 16, 2026 by Bill Foster · Last progress January 16, 2026
Gives the Director of the Office of Financial Research (OFR) sole authority over the Office’s annual budget and staffing decisions, sets a statutory minimum annual budget (adjusted each year by an employment-cost index) and a minimum staffing level, and requires the OFR to transfer a fixed annual amount to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to fund at least 48 FSOC full‑time positions and other Council expenses. The bill removes prior consultation and review requirements with the FSOC Chair and limits outside influence on OFR budget and staffing decisions while indexing the minimum budget and the FSOC transfer to an employment cost index for annual adjustments. These changes are administrative and narrowly targeted to strengthen OFR financial independence, ensure minimum resourcing and staffing, and guarantee regular funding for FSOC operations and staffing.