Sec. Geithner testifies before House panel

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner took the debate on how to overhaul U.S. financial regulation to Capitol Hill as he testified Friday before a House panel.

The House Financial Services Committee also heard from Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, and Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"We understand that on any issue this complex and this important there will be areas where parties genuinely disagree, and we look forward to refining our recommendations through the legislative process," Geithner said in prepared statement. "But there should be no disagreement on the need to act."

The Obama administration has proposed a new regulatory agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan testified the plan would not be uniform across the country because states would be able to adopt more restrictive regulations. He said the plan does not include any way to enforce the new agency's rules.