Washington ? House lawmakers want to pry open the books of the famously secretive Federal Reserve with legislation that would subject the central bank to a sweeping congressional audit.

The effort is overwhelmingly bipartisan. Hard-line conservatives and liberal Democrats have banded together in their criticism of the Fed as a major power broker in the financial system that doesn’t answer to Congress.

Friday’s debate comes as lawmakers consider a proposal by President Barack Obama that would give the Fed new powers to prevent another economic crisis.

“Nobody in my district thinks that the Fed has done such a wonderful job of running the economy that we should continue to cloak them with secrecy for the purpose of protecting them from second-guessing criticism,” said Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat.