§5342 Office of Financial Research Established

Summary

The Department of the Treasury must have an Office of Financial Research. A Director runs the Office. The President appoints the Director with the Senate’s approval. The Director serves a 6-year term and may stay on until a successor is confirmed. The Director is paid at Level III of the Executive Schedule and cannot also serve as the head of any financial regulatory agency. The Director decides how to carry out the Office’s duties. The Director, working with the Chairperson, sets the Office’s budget, decides how many staff to hire, and sets pay for employees without following the usual federal job classification and General Schedule pay rules. Any federal agency may give the Office staff, money, or other help, and employees can be detailed to the Office without losing their job rights. The Director may hire temporary workers at pay up to the daily equivalent of Level V of the Executive Schedule. The Secretary, with the Government Ethics Director’s agreement, must make rules that stop the Director and any Office employee who saw sensitive transaction or position data or other confidential business information from working for or advising a financial firm for 1 year after their last access (shorter periods may be allowed case-by-case for limited access). The Office may create advisory committees and run a fellowship program that brings in academics and professionals for up to 2 years to do research and train staff.