[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

The House Committee could stop the Volcker Rule in its tracks.  In a letter to the 5 regulators who will write the rule that limits banks' proprietary trading abilities, the committee lobbied for transparency during the rulemaking process and for the right for Congress to amend or repeal the outcome.

The Letter. The committee's ranking Republicans Reps. Spencer Bachus (R.-Ala.) and Jeb Hensarling (R.-Texas) criticized the regulators' progress so far, in relation to the amount of time that has passed since regulators publicly released the most recent draft of the rule. 

"The resulting confusion has only made it that much more likely that whatever final rule you issue will compound the regulatory uncertainty that continue to plague our economy." -- Reps. Bachus and Hensarling, in the letter.

The Republicans' position is that the costs of Volcker likely outweigh the benefits, especially for smaller institutions.  It would like regulators to extend its effective date until at least 2 years after the final draft is written, the letter states.  The deadline for the final draft, expected by year-end, has been extended to 2013's Q1, according to regulatory officials.  Until then, since July 2012, banks are expected to operate in the "spirit" of the Volcker Rule.

For further details, go to [CNBC, 11/29/12].