Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, has written federal financial regulators to urge they suspend all rulemaking.
In the letters, Brown made clear that all federal financial regulators should suspend all rulemaking not related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The COVID-19 virus threatens both the health of the public and the economy. It presents immediate challenges to real households and every entity in the housing market, from frontline homelessness providers to homeowners,” Brown wrote. “In light of this crisis, we urge you to implement an immediate moratorium on rulemakings not related to the virus response or other imminent health and safety concerns.”
In place of rulemaking work, Brown said regulators should prioritize executive actions related to advancing public health and expanding worker protections, increasing access to nutrition services, enhancing safety, and protecting the financial needs of individuals and families facing economic hardship as a result of the virus.
“This cessation should include extension of any comment periods on rules not related to these critical health and safety factors closing after March 1, 2020,” Brown wrote. “The American people are scrambling to ensure they protect themselves, their families, and vulnerable individuals in society from this virus. Under these circumstances, it will be difficult for the public to have the customary engagement with government agencies and provide meaningful recommendations and comments on proposed rulemakings other than those related to the crisis at hand.”
Brown wrote that the moratorium should last at least 45 days.
Among the regulators Brown wrote to are the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve, National Credit Union Administration and the Security and Exchange Commission.