When this session of the 113th Congress opened, FinServ Chairman Hensarling (R-TX) laid out a formidable agenda that struck fear in the heart of the Federal Reserve (see Client Report FEDERALRESERVE14).  Since then, the “Centennial Oversight Project” designed to rewrite the FRB’s hundred-year charter seemed to founder.  Hearings there were, to be sure, but only one bill (see FSM Report FEDERALRESERVE15) surfaced.  Given that the panel took no action on it, central-bank fans thought the august institution was in the clear.  But, Rep. Hensarling made clear at a hearing last week (see Client Report FEDERALRESERVE16) that the break was just a breather, not an all-clear.  Here, we assess the issues that perturb Republican Members of Congress not just about the FRB, but also its friends elsewhere in federal financial regulation.  All of them, we expect, will be themes in the forthcoming, hard-fought mid-term election.

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