U.S. House passes bill that limits 2016 consumer bureau budget

[February 05, 2015]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would add extra hurdles for government agencies writing new rules and limit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding next year.

The House voted 250 to 173 to pass the bill, sending the legislation to the U.S. Senate. The bill from Representative Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican, would require regulatory agencies to disclose more information about the costs to local governments and businesses of any new federal rules.

"Americans are better served when regulators are required to measure and consider the costs of the rules they create," Foxx said in a statement after the vote. "Transparency and accountability are not partisan issues."

Republicans have criticized rules ranging from the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law aimed at Wall Street to environmental regulations, which they say impose unfair costs on businesses and hurt economic growth.

Wednesday's bill is the latest effort by the Republican-controlled House to change the way U.S. agencies write new regulations. Opponents, including most Democrats, said the bill would make it easier for businesses to challenge regulations in court.

Foxx's bill also would cap the U.S. consumer bureau's budget for fiscal year 2016 at $550 million, $36 million below its current expected funding.

Republicans have sought more control over the agency's budget since it was created as part of the Dodd-Frank reform law. The consumer bureau is currently funded by the U.S. Federal Reserve, not by congressional appropriations.

Sheridan Watson, a spokeswoman for Foxx, said the budget limit was included in the bill passed on Wednesday to ensure the overall legislation created no new spending, a procedural requirement under Republican rules.

The bill, however, is unlikely to become law as Republicans hold a slimmer majority in the U.S. Senate than they have in the House.

The White House also said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama would veto the bill if it reaches his desk.

(Reporting by Emily Stephenson, editing by G Crosse)

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