Washington Digest: Senate bill goes after Fed; House bills target environmental rules

WASHINGTON — In a shortened legislative week, the Senate blocked a bill to lift restrictions on Federal Reserve audits while the House approved bills challenging the Obama administration on environmental regulations, defying its veto threats.

Introduced by Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act at 53-44 fell seven votes short of the 60 needed to advance under Senate rules.

Paul described the Federal Reserve as "an institution that has been too long shrouded in secrecy."

Under the bill, he said, restrictions on U.S. Government Accountability Office audits of the Fed would be eliminated, and its credit facilities, securities purchases and quantitative easing activities would be subject to congressional oversight.

"Auditing the Fed should not be a partisan issue," Paul said.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid urged colleagues to maintain the Fed's independence.

"Let's be clear, this bill is not about auditing the Federal Reserve," Reid said. "This bill is about giving tea party Republicans and their billionaire donors the authority to control the United States economy."

Reid voted against the bill while Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., supported it.

EPA targeted

On a Senate-passed bill introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, to scrap new rules put together by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, the House voted 253-166 on a "resolution of disapproval."

Ernst said the bill not only kills the expanded definition of waters subject to federal regulation that would have hurt farmers, ranchers and businesses but also stops the "EPA's blatant power grab."

Under President Barack Obama, the EPA has been a favorite target for Republicans who have been critical of its efforts on several environmental issues.

Obama is expected to veto the bill.

The Office of Management and Budget said that the measure is "not an act of good governance" and that the approach taken by EPA and the corps clarifying the jurisdictional boundaries of the Clean Water Act is grounded in science and law and essential to ensuring clean water for future generations.

Nevada Republican Reps. Cresent Hardy, Joe Heck and Mark Amodei voted for the measure while Democratic Rep. Dina Titus voted against it.

Mining rule challenged

The House, in a 235-188 vote, also approved a bill targeting a second environmental change from the Obama administration.

Introduced by Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., the bill goes after a new stream buffer zone from the Interior Department's surface mining office, which Mooney described as another front in the Obama administration's war on coal. He said the new rule would kill thousands of jobs in the industry.

The White House opposes the bill, saying the administration's stream-protection rule is needed to address destructive surface coal mining practices.

"The current stream-protection requirements governing surface mining activities are more than 30 years old and do not incorporate significant knowledge and mining and reclamation techniques," the Office of Management and Budget said.

Hardy, Heck and Amodei voted for the bill while Titus opposed it.

— Contact Jim Myers at jmyers@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @myers_dc.