The Mercury News [registration required] reports that the House Financial Services Committee has voted favorably on a measure that would block FASB's proposed rule for expensing the cost of stock options. However, the Senate Banking Committee is poised to block the blocking measure:

Under the House bill, only options going to the top five executives of a company must be expensed.

Supporters hope the bipartisan 45-13 vote Tuesday ... will help propel it past some tough opposition in the Senate...Among the biggest obstacles to the legislation is Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chair of the Senate Banking Committee, [who is] unlikely to be swayed by strong action in the House. ...[He] believes that the preservation of FASB's independence is fundamental to maintaining transparent, competitive and liquid markets,... and he opposes holding hearings on it.

The question that once again seems to be posed by this legislative activity is who is responsible for "...deciding what should be accounted for and how it should be accounted".