U.S. Senate hearings that could raise the tax rate on some private equity and venture capital fund profits were overshadowed today when the Senate Banking Committee approved a measure that would put additional pressure on China to revalue the Yuan Renminbi.

ABC Money in the U.K. was among the blog sites that covered the vote. The Senate committee voted 17-4 in favor of tightening the rules that the U.S. Treasury Department has to play by when it decides whether or not to punish a country for undervaluing its currency.

Anti-China sentiment in Congress is plentiful at the moment. Many lawmakers think that revaluing the Yuan would make Chinese goods more expensive in the U.S., help correct the trade deficit between the two countries, and possibly create new jobs in America.

President Bush has said that the bill could lead to a round of international protectionism that would be bad for the American economy and that he will veto the bill if it makes it to his desk.