Proponents of auditing the Federal Reserve have a new bill to support their cause. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) and Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) introduced legislation today to require the Government Accountability Office to audit several of the central bank’s emergency lending programs that were created during the financial crisis.

The two junior senators are joining a movement that has drawn more than two-thirds of the House and a third of the Senate. But their legislation, the Federal Reserve Accountability Act, is intended to sidestep criticism that auditing the central bank would hinder the Fed’s independence in conducting monetary policy. The bill directs the GAO — the investigative arm of Congress — to audit emergency lending programs that aren’t already subject to government audits. (Institution-specific lending programs, such as those tied to AIG and Bear Stearns, are already open to GAO review, as are programs conducted jointly with the Treasury Department.)

To avoid disrupting markets, the legislation directs the GAO to redact from its reports the names of specific institutions using the programs and “identifying details regarding assets or collateral” held in the audited facilities. But that information would be released one year after each program is no longer used. The legislation specifically cites programs created under the Fed’s 13.3 authority, which allows central bank lending to any firm in “unusual and exigent” circumstances: the money market investor funding facility, the asset-backed commercial paper money market mutual fund liquidity facility, the term asset-backed securities loan facility, the primary dealer credit facility and the commercial paper funding facility.

Mr. Merkley, in a statement, said the legislation “strikes the right balance between protecting taxpayer dollars and respecting the central bank’s responsibility to manage monetary policy.” Mr. Corker said it allows audits of emergency facilities “without inappropriately compromising the independence of the Fed or politicizing its role in crafting monetary policy.”

Fed officials may not necessarily see it that way. The bill avoids review of the Fed’s regular lending programs, such as the longstanding discount window, and its interest-rate decisions. But some of the emergency programs are central to monetary policy operations that the Fed wants to keep outside of GAO review. Still, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and other officials have indicated a willingness to work with lawmakers on more disclosure outside of any GAO reviews. Last month, Fed General Counsel Scott Alvarez said the Fed is “giving serious consideration” to releasing the names of firms that receive loans from the central bank.

Many backers of the original audit-the-Fed legislation are unlikely to find the Merkley/Corker alternative to be appealing. The House bill, by Texas Republican Ron Paul, would open all of the Fed’s operations — not just emergency programs — to a review by the GAO. The legislation has 303 co-sponsors, including more than 100 Democrats. A matching Senate bill by independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont has 30 sponsors (the vast majority Republicans).

Still, the Merkley/Corker bill could be appealing for lawmakers who are looking for middle ground on the issue. At the very least, it raises the odds that audit legislation in some form will clear the Senate, as it’s expected to in the House.

A Fed spokeswoman said Mr. Bernanke “has said the Fed wants to work with Congress to assure them of the operational integrity of our liquidity facilities, including sound accounting, financial and internal controls. We look forward to working with the Senate Banking Committee and Senators Merkley, Corker and others in achieving that goal.”

UPDATE 6:30 PM: Sen. Corker, in an interview, said he views his bill not as a compromise but a “minimal step” in auditing the Fed. He said he’s awaiting negotiations by Mr. Paul in the House regarding audit legislation and might support what comes out of that. But he doesn’t want his bill viewed as an offer from the Senate to resolve those negotiations. “I went along with this bill because it was a Democrat willing to look at this audit,” he said. “This is at a minimum what I believe should occur.”

Sen. Corker said he hasn’t signed onto Senate bill 604, which mirrors Mr. Paul’s House version, because he doesn’t think the GAO should review the Fed’s development of monetary policy. But he supports audits of all Fed credit facilities, not just the emergency programs outlined in his bill. “I believe that all financial transactions that the Fed is involved in are perfectly legitimately auditable and should be,” he said. “I’m more than open to further audits.”