Lawmakers on Wednesday reached a compromise to allow expanded audits of the Federal Reserve, part of an effort to shine light on the central bank's emergency lending during the financial crisis while safeguarding its independence in setting monetary policy.

In another marathon session to hash out differences over sweeping new financial regulations, members of a House-Senate conference committee agreed to grant the Government Accountability Office broad authority to examine the operations of the Fed and to require additional disclosures from the central bank.

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