1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

I am writing to ask a direct and urgent question: why is our government dismantling one of the very offices designed to prevent another financial crisis? According to recent reporting, the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research, created after the 2008 collapse to monitor systemic financial risks, is being reduced by roughly 64% of its workforce. This is not a minor adjustment. This is a fundamental weakening of a critical safeguard that exists specifically to protect the American economy and everyday citizens. We have already lived through what happens when risks go unchecked. Millions of Americans lost their homes, their savings, and their financial security in 2008. The Office of Financial Research was created to ensure we never walk blindly into that kind of disaster again. Cutting this office down to a fraction of its size raises serious concerns. Who is now responsible for identifying emerging threats to our financial system? What analysis or oversight is being lost with these layoffs? Why is prevention being treated as optional when the cost of failure is catastrophic? If the justification is that the office is “duplicative” or unnecessary, I expect to see clear evidence of what will replace its function. Because eliminating capacity without replacing it is not efficiency, it is risk. This is not about politics. It is about economic stability and protecting the American people from another preventable crisis. I am asking you to publicly clarify your position on these cuts, explain what safeguards will replace the work of the Office of Financial Research, and advocate for maintaining strong, independent oversight of systemic financial risks. We cannot afford to learn the same lesson twice. I look forward to your response.