U.S. House Agriculture Committee members on Wednesday voted to advance legislation to delay Dodd-Frank Act rules governing the derivatives market until the end of 2012.
The Republican proposal was approved in a 25-20 vote along party lines during a committee meeting in Washington. The bill, aimed at giving regulators more time to write rules and avoid unintended consequences, would revise Dodd-Frank requirements that most new derivatives regulations be completed by mid-July. Regulators have said some of the deadlines will slip until later this year.
“It doesn’t water the bill down and it’s not a kill tactic,” said Rep. Frank D. Lucas, the Oklahoma Republican who leads the Agriculture Committee. “It provides an additional 18 months for rule-making.”
Even if it is approved by the House, the measure would likely face opposition from the Democrat-controlled Senate and President Barack Obama, who enacted the regulatory overhaul that created the timetable last year.
“I think this is a partisan game, and frankly this bill isn’t going anywhere in the Senate,” said Rep. Collin Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat who led the panel before Republicans took control of the House this year.
The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to consider the measure at a May 12 meeting.
