WASHINGTON — The House passed a controversial bill on Friday requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct additional economic analysis on its rules.
The Securities Exchange Commission Regulatory Accountability Act passed with bipartisan support by a vote of 235-161, after being passed out of the House Financial Services Committee just last week with a broader package of derivatives provisions.
"It is this simple: the costs of new rulemaking should not outweigh the benefits. We can all agree that certain regulation is necessary. Therefore, we should also all agree that unnecessary and ill-conceived regulations that stunt economic growth and job creation should be eliminated," said Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., one of the bill's sponsors. "I applaud the House for passing this pro-growth jobs bill, and I call on the Senate to do the same immediately."
The legislation passed despite critics' concerns that the bill imposes overly stringent requirements on the agency, which could slow implementation of the Dodd-Frank law. The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a statement earlier this week warning that its procedures were "onerous."
"We're going to have a bill whose real aim is to bog down the SEC so that they won't be able to do their work, so that they won't be able to do their rulemaking, so that they won't be able to protect investors," said Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House banking panel, during a floor speech on Friday.
The Democratic-led Senate is unlikely to take up the legislation.
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