What Wall Street Reform? 77% of Deadlines Blown

It's been 15 months since the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill was passed, but so far the federal agencies responsible for implementing the bill have missed 77% of the rule-making deadlines, reports Politico. But officials are divided on what the delay means: Some Democrats think Republicans are stalling in hopes of overtaking the Senate and White House next fall, so they can nix the reforms altogether; but some Republicans counter, saying federal agencies aren't equipped to meet the deadlines.

"The bad thing is that the deadlines are not reasonable or realistic,” says a GOP aide. "The delay is from the regulators. We’re not controlling them." Republicans are refusing to confirm the appointment of the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, notes Politico, pending changes it wants to see at the new agency. Others in the Treasury say that getting reforms right is more important than adhering to a schedule. “We want quality and speed, but we’re not going to sacrifice quality for speed,” said one deputy Treasury secretary. "A president that wants something as complex as this to take place has to devote an incredible amount of his resources and political capital to getting it done," says a former SEC head. "Left to the legislators and regulators, it will sink and rot in the miasma of dialogue and debate." (More Dodd-Frank stories.)