(Bloomberg) -- Senators Elizabeth Warren and DavidVitter introduced legislation to require the FederalReserve Board of Governors to publicly record votes onenforcement actions that include $1 million or more inpayments.

The proposal would also give each governor his or her own staff,like those working for commissioners at the Securities and Exchange Commission and FederalDeposit Insurance Corp. Fed governors currently share a staff ofresearchers. The goal is to make governors more independent,according to a release the lawmakers issued on Thursday inWashington announcing their proposal.

Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Vitter, a LouisianaRepublican, both sit on the Senate Banking Committee. Thoughthey’re members of opposing parties, both have been outspokenproponents of greater Fed accountability.

The senators are working on separate legislation to “furtherhalt megabank bailouts during a crisis,” according to theirstatement.

“By bringing greater transparency and accountability to the Fed,the bill will improve the Fed’s oversight of our biggest financialinstitutions,” Warren said in the release about the measureintroduced today.

Fed spokesman Eric Kollig declined to comment. The Fed is facingcongressional pressure to be more transparent about how it conductsmonetary policy and how it supervises the nation’s biggestbanks.

Bailout critics

The central bank has been pushing back against new threats toits independence after Republicans took control of both chambersthis year, and members of both parties have voiced unhappiness withthe Fed’s financial supervision. That criticism dates to its rolein taxpayer-funded bailouts of firms including AmericanInternational Group Inc. during the financial crisis of2008-2009.

“If Board members can think for themselves and are heldaccountable, taxpayers are less likely to be asked to bail out themegabanks,” Vitter said in today’s statement.

The central bank’s Washington-based governors are nominated bythe U.S. president and confirmed by the Senate. Elected officialshave no role in choosing regional Fed bank presidents, who areselected by their boards of directors, subject to Fed boardapproval.

Lending powers

Congress reined in the Fed’s emergency lending powers when itpassed the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. The central bank stillhasn’t completed rules explaining how it will implement thechanges, and officials have made clear they’d like to retain asmuch flexibility as possible to contain future crises.

That’s put them in conflict with lawmakers who want clear rulesthat minimize the Fed’s discretion and eliminate its ability torescue individual banks.

Lindsay Bembenek, a spokeswoman for Vitter, declined to commentbeyond what was in the statement. Lacey Rose, a spokeswoman forWarren, didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.

The new Vitter-Warren proposal is one of several bills that aimto make the U.S. central bank more accountable to Congress. SenateBanking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, a Republican fromAlabama, is drafting legislation to overhaul financial regulationsthat could include changes to the Fed.

With assistance from Jeff Kearns in Washington.

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