“Financial reform advocates are crying foul over a pair of bills set to pass the House, arguing they are aimed at jamming regulators and exposing rules to new court challenges.

“The House is preparing to consider two bills, HR 50 and HR 527, that Republicans argue will provide some much-needed regulatory relief for small businesses, while ensuring that regulators take into consideration the impact of their rules as they write them.

“But backers of tough Wall Street rules see the legislation as opening new doors for industry to take regulators to court, or requiring watchdogs to jump through even more hoops to write rules.

“These bills, in slightly different and overlapping ways, basically put another thumb on the scale,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of Americans for Financial Reform. “But I would say it’s a lot heavier than a thumb. It’s another fist on the scale.”

“One bill, HR 50, is sponsored by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), and would allow additional court challenges to rules on the basis of the agency’s analysis of respective costs and benefits created by the rule. The measure is currently sponsored by two Republicans, as well as two Democrats. And previous versions of the bill passed the House with bipartisan backing.”

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“In a January editorial in The Washington Post, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said not only would the administration try and block explicit efforts to roll back Dodd-Frank, but also “disguised attacks…that would make it easier for opponents of Wall Street reform to use the courts to stymie the regulatory process.”

“The bills apply to all government regulation efforts, but financial reform advocates are particularly worried about what it could mean for Dodd-Frank.”

“Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of the pro-reform group Better Markets, said Foxx’s bill would “cripple” regulators.”

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Read the full “The Hill” article by Peter Schroeder here.