Lawmakers are pushing a bill that could curb the influence of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and other regulators, the New York Times DealBook blog reported today. The measure, which a Senate committee is planning to debate this month, aims to empower the president in the rule-writing process. The proposal would allow the White House to second-guess major rules and mandate that agencies carefully study the economic effects of new regulation. The change could, in effect, delay a number of rules for the financial industry. Some legal experts say the White House already has ample authority to impose such demands on independent agencies like the SEC But critics say that the bill would stymie financial reform and threaten the autonomy of regulators that operate outside the presidential cabinet. The authors of the Senate bill - Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, and Susan Collins, Republican of Maine - say that they are not out to kill financial reform. Collins backed Dodd-Frank, and the lawmakers point to support among several Democrats, including their co-author, Mark Warner of Virginia.
