Banking and Finance
The Assistant General Counsel for Banking and Finance (Banking and Finance) supervises the Deputy Assistant General Counsel (Banking and Finance), the Deputy Assistant General Counsel (Financial Stability Oversight Council), staff attorneys, support staff, the Chief Counsel of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the Chief Counsel of the Office of Financial Research, and the Legal Counsel of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The principal clients of the office include the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, the Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets, the Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, the Fiscal Assistant Secretary, the Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, the Director of the Office of Financial Research, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Financial Stability Oversight Council, and the Director of the Federal Insurance Office.
The office of the Assistant General Counsel (Banking and Finance) is responsible for providing legal advice and support to departmental officials and staff on the full range of Treasury domestic finance initiatives and responsibilities, including: financial regulatory reform and programs and activities related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; banking law and financial services regulation; securities law and capital markets regulation; insurance regulation and Treasury's terrorism risk insurance program; housing finance reform and government-sponsored enterprises; small business lending; student loan financing; financial-sector critical infrastructure protection and cyber-security; financial privacy; financial literacy and education programs; Treasury's borrowing authority and the federal debt limit; Treasury securities issues; Treasury fiscal operations in financing the expenses of the U.S. government; federal credit programs and government loans and guarantees, including Federal Financing Bank loans; federal investment programs and federal trust funds; and legislative and regulatory drafting.
Significant projects on which the Office of the Assistant General Counsel (Banking and Finance) provided legal advice over the past few years include: establishing Treasury's support facilities for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008; establishing Treasury's Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds in 2008; standing up Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, including its bank investment programs and housing programs, as authorized by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008; providing ongoing support to Treasury's payments in lieu of energy tax credits stimulus program, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; drafting the Administration's legislative proposal for financial regulatory reform in 2009, which was in large part enacted into law as the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010; standing up and providing ongoing support to the interagency Financial Stability Oversight Council, Treasury's Office of Financial Research, and Treasury's Federal Insurance Office, all established by the Dodd-Frank Act; standing up and providing ongoing support to Treasury's Small Business Lending Fund bank investment program, Treasury's State Small Business Credit Initiative grant program, and Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions bond guarantee program, all established by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010; advising on the drafting of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) in 2012; standing-up Treasury's Gulf Coast restoration grant programs, as authorized by the RESTORE Act of 2012; advising on the Administration's Pay for Success policy development; and advising on the Administration's housing finance reform policy development.
Enforcement and Intelligence
The mission of the Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement and Intelligence (E&I) is to formulate and provide legal and policy-related advice to the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, the Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes and the Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis. Additionally, the Assistant General Counsel (E&I) directly supervises the provision of legal advice to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture.
The Assistant General Counsel (E&I) is supported by a Deputy Assistant General Counsel, staff attorneys and administrative staff. Additionally, the Chief Counsel's Office for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Chief Counsel's Office for the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Legal Counsel of the Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture provide legal support to their respective clients.
The Assistant General Counsel (E&I) provides legal advice concerning a wide range of issues impacting the Department's intelligence and enforcement functions. In particular, the Assistant General Counsel (E&I) provides legal advice on financial intelligence matters focused on the twin aims of safeguarding the financial system against illicit use and combating rogue nations, terrorists, weapons of mass destruction proliferation, money laundering, narcotics kingpins and other national security threats. The office works with counsel from the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service (Criminal Investigation) and counsel from other intelligence and enforcement agencies regarding litigation, intelligence and law enforcement matters.
General Law, Ethics, and Regulation
The Assistant General Counsel for General Law, Ethics and Regulation (GLER) supervises the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for General Law, the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Ethics, the Senior Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, staff attorneys, support staff, and the Chief Counsels of the U.S. Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
The Office of the Assistant General Counsel (GLER) provides legal advice concerning a wide range of issues related to the internal management of the Department of the Treasury, government contracts, regulations, Departmental organization, appropriations, budget formulation and execution, disclosure, labor management relations, equal employment opportunity and personnel law. The Office also provides legal support to Treasury’s Office of D.C. Pensions. The office represents the Department in administrative litigation before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Labor Relations Authority and it assists the Department of Justice in litigation before Federal district and appellate courts.
The office is responsible for managing the Department's ethics program. In addition, the office is responsible for clearance of regulations issued by the Department, including tax regulations issued by the IRS. In this role, the office works with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget and the Small Business Administration. In the area of disclosure law, the office provides legal guidance to the Department on Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests.
International Affairs
The Office of the Assistant General Counsel for International Affairs (IA), which includes the Assistant General Counsel for International Affairs, a deputy, staff attorneys, and support staff, principally advises the Under Secretary for International Affairs and the Assistant Secretaries for International Affairs.
The Office of the Assistant General Counsel (IA) provides legal advice in connection with a broad range of international economic and financial matters, including issues involving the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other multilateral development banks, international trade and trade finance issues, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) which the Secretary of the Treasury chairs, climate investment, and international banking and securities issues.
During the past few years, members of the office have worked extensively on matters such as negotiations of free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties; CFIUS legislation and numerous CFIUS cases; legal aspects of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue and exchange rate issues relating to China; and implementation of Congressional mandates relating to U.S. participation in the international financial institutions.