U.S. lawmakers and lobbyists who once backed repeal of the 2010Dodd-Frank Act are now pushing for technical fixes to the law, andthey're getting a skeptical reception from the measure'sadvocates.

While some alterations to the act have bipartisan support inCongress, many Democrats say they remain wary of measures thatmight undermine the law that created the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau and mandated regulations to curb risky behaviorby financial institutions deemed too big to fail.

“There is general agreement that technical corrections on an800-page bill would be appropriate,” said Lauren Kulik, aspokeswoman for Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio and amember of the Senate Banking Committee. At the same time, she said,Dodd-Frank supporters worry that a technical change could “morphinto a substantive change.”

“Technical corrections are in the eye of the beholder,” saidSenator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat who also sits on thecommittee.

Lawmakers and industry advocates are working on categorizingwhich of the many proposals for Dodd-Frank changes should bedefined as a technical, said James Ballentine, executive vicepresident of congressional relations and political affairs at theAmerican Bankers Association.

“Easy and technical are not two words that go together in thisenvironment,” Ballentine said. “A technical fix for some is a majorissue for others, and that's what requires discussion.”

As that discussion evolves, proponents of change to Dodd-Franksay they see support growing in both parties.

“The biggest difference between today and two years ago is thatlawmakers seem to be focused less on punishing the banks and moreon how to get credit flowing again,” said Jaret Seiberg, seniorpolicy analyst at Washington Research Group, a unit of GuggenheimSecurities. “And that's a bipartisan perspective that could openthe door to Dodd-Frank reform.”

Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for FinancialReform, which advocates tighter banking regulation, said theindustry has disguised broad changes to Dodd-Frank as minor tweaksto gain support. She said no consensus exists for technicalchanges.

“People telling the story about how there's a bipartisanconsensus are actually campaigning for significant rollbacks of thelaw,” she said.

Among proposals with bipartisan support are alterations to tothe law's derivatives provisions and a bill intended to limitdistribution of confidential bank data obtained by the consumerbureau. Other changes, including a Republican proposal to replacethe director of that bureau with a five-member commission, havelawmakers split along party lines.

Measures Advanced

The Republican-controlled House has already acted on someDodd-Frank changes proposed by financial firms. The chamberapproved a bill in March to exempt manufacturers and commercialswap-users from collateral requirements and ease regulations oninter-company trades. Other measures have won committee approvaland are awaiting floor votes.

The Senate, controlled by Democrats, hasn't approved any ofthose Dodd-Frank changes.

“Leadership in the House should be able to pass a ham sandwichif they want,” Seiberg said. “It's the Senate where the minorityparty and majority party have to work together if you want to getsomething passed.”

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, a South DakotaDemocrat, has asked the banking industry to define the “technicalchanges” it would like to see, according to two people involved inthe discussions.

“I am open to the idea of improving Wall Street reform by makingtechnical corrections and fixing unintended consequences, but intoday's political environment there will need to be broadbipartisan support to get anything approved,” Johnson said during ahearing in March.

“There are some reports from the Senate that they are willing totake a look at some of the reforms,” said Representative ScottGarrett, a Republican from New Jersey who sits on the FinancialServices Committee. “I welcome them to the table. They took theview for the last two years that nothing at all needed to bechanged in Dodd-Frank despite the fact that members of their ownparty in the House voted on bills out of committee and onto thefloor.”

Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia and Dodd-Franksupporter, said he would like to see several alterations to thelaw, including an independent leader to replace the Treasurysecretary as head of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, apanel created to spot systemic risk, as well changes to derivativesrules.

'Repeal or Nothing'

“The political context is such that it is either repeal ornothing, which is an absurd way to approach any major legislativeactivity,” he said of Dodd-Frank during a speech before theBipartisan Policy Center on Oct. 18.

The focus on technical changes reflects a growing sense amongDodd-Frank opponents that the measure's repeal is all but dead.

“The election result means the idea of repealing Dodd-Frank isnot going to happen,” said Phillip Swagel, a former Treasuryassistant secretary in the administration of President George W.Bush and now an economics professor at the University of Maryland'sSchool of Public Policy. “With that discussion over, it should bemore possible to make smaller changes.”

Mark Calabria, a former top Republican aide for the SenateBanking Committee who now directs financial regulation studies atthe Cato Institute, said with Democrats' gains in the electionRepublicans must “begrudgingly accept” Dodd-Frank and focus more ontechnical changes.

“There's certainly a gray area of what's technical and what'snot and people will play that to their advantage,” Calabriasaid.

Dodd-Frank critics had hopes for a technical corrections billeven before law was signed by President Barack Obama. As the actwas moving toward passage its Democratic authors, Senator ChrisDodd of Connecticut and Representative Barney Frank ofMassachusetts, said there would be a future bill to makecorrections. Dodd said any 2,000-page bill is bound to be followedby “a corrections bill that comes at some point,” and Frank saidthe next bill may go beyond “technical” fixes.

After the financial-overhaul law was enacted, Democrats and theadministration attacked any effort amend the law. In May 2011,Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said “dark forces” arewaging a “war of attrition” against Dodd-Frank.

Never Easy

The measure to limit how the consumer bureau shares confidentialinformation it collects from banks is an example of thecomplications that await even bipartisan changes to Dodd-Frank.

Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina placed a “hold”or procedural block on the bill, which was endorsed by the consumerbureau, saying in July he would lift the obstacle in return for avote to repeal all of Dodd-Frank.

DeMint, who is leaving the Senate at the end of the year tobecome president of the Heritage Foundation, told Politico lastweek that he would remove his “hold” without the repeal vote inlight of the election results. Now, with DeMint leaving the Senate,it is unclear whether he will stop blocking the bill, clearing itfor a quick vote. Wesley Denton, a spokesman for DeMint, has notreturned repeated calls and e-mails for comment on the hold.

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