This week in Congress

The House is in session Tuesday through Friday this week. The major legislation considered by the House is the CHOICE Act. CHOICE forbids the Financial Stability Oversight Council from designating of any financial institution as “too big to fail.”  It also makes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau subject to Congressional appropriations (under Dodd-Frank the bureau was funded by the Federal Reserve in order to avoid Congressional oversight). The bill also repeals the Durbin Amendment and the Volker rule. It also requires the Fed to adopt a rules-based monetary policy, and subjects them to an audit if they do not comply. The bill also contains the Audit the Fed legislation. While the CHOICE Act is a good bill, supporters of monetary reform should not be fooled that a “rules-based” monetary policy will “fix” the Federal Reserve. Also, given how close we are to passing a stand-alone Audit the Fed bill, putting the audit in another bill that is unlikely to pass the Senate is no substitute for a vote on the Audit bill. For more on the flaws with a rules-based policy see here, and here. The House will also consider legislation (HR 390) providing emergency relief to victims of genocide in Iraq and Syria … here’s an idea: why not stop intervening in those countries and thus stop creating the conditions that lead to genocide? This bill will be considered on the suspension calendar: forty minutes of debate at a time when most members are still traveling back from their districts. So much for taking their foreign policy responsibility seriously.