The US House of Representatives on Monday passed legislation to battle financial fraud and create an independent commission to investigate the causes of the global financial meltdown, AFP reported.
Lawmakers voted 338 to 52 for the bill, which now goes to US President Barack Obama to sign into law.
The panel, which will recommend steps to prevent future economic crises, will be modeled on the bipartisan commission that investigated the failures that led up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist strikes.
The independent inquiry would be made up of 10 members chosen among US citizens with "significant experience in such fields as banking, regulation of markets, taxation, finance, economics and housing."
The commission would have a wide-ranging remit to examine the role of US regulators and the Federal Reserve, along with companies' accounting practices, executive pay schemes and use of exotic investment tools.
Possible fraud, the controversial role of credit risk agencies and short-selling on the markets are also listed in the legislation for investigation.
So too is "the global imbalance of savings" -- a veiled reference to US lawmakers' complaints that cash-rich China had a role to play by driving up the US trade deficit to record highs.
The new committee, which would also probe the US government's series of hefty financial bailouts, would hold hearings in public and would have subpoena power to compel testimony from reluctant witnesses.
Six of the members would be chosen by Democratic leaders in Congress and four by Republicans, but the panel would require Republican assent to issue subpoenas.
It would have 18 months to investigate the causes of what some call the worst economic crisis since the 1930s Great Depression and report back recommendations to prevent such collapses in the future.
The Senate had initially approved the legislation 92-4 in April, followed by the House 367-59 on May 6. But Senators quietly altered the bill on May 14, requiring another House vote.
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