By JIM KUHNHENN Associated Press Writer |WASHINGTON May 20, 2010 (AP)
Prodded by national anger at Wall Street, the Senate passed the most far-reaching restraints on big banks since the Great Depression. In its broad sweep, the massive bill would touch Wall Street CEOs and first-time home buyers, high-flying traders and small town lenders.
The 59-39 vote represents an important achievement for President Barack Obama, and comes just two months after his health care overhaul became law. The bill must now be reconciled with a House version that passed in December. The legislation Should reach Obama's desk before the Fourth of July.
The legislation aims to prevent another meltdown of big Wall Street investment banks and the resulting costly bailouts. It calls for new ways to watch for risks in the financial system and makes it easier to liquidate large failing financial firms. It also writes new rules for complex securities blamed for helping precipitate the 2008 economic crisis. It ALSO creates a new consumer protection agency, something republicans had little enthusiasm for.
It would impose new restraints on the largest, most interconnected banks. It would demand proof that borrowers could pay for the simplest of mortgages.
"Our goal is not to punish the banks but to protect the larger economy and the American people from the kind of upheavals that we've seen in the past few years," Obama said earlier Thursday after the Senate cleared a key 60-vote hurdle blocking final action.
Obama said, the fiancial industry had tried to stop the new regulations "with hordes of lobbyists and millions of dollars in ads."
Only two Democrats voted against the bill. Four Republicans broke ranks with their party to support it.
"The decisions we've made will have an impact on the lives of Americans for decades to come," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who voted against the legislation. "Judgment will not be rendered by self-congratulatory press releases, but, rather, by the marketplace. And the marketplace does not give credit for good intentions."
Democrats argued the bill was a potent response to the financial abuses, regulatory weaknesses and consumer misjudgments that plunged the nation deep into recession.
"To Wall Street, it says: No longer can you recklessly gamble away other people's money," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "It says the days of too big to fail are behind us. It says to those who game the system: The game is over."
As House and Senate negotiators meet to work out differences in the bills, the common ground between the two bills will likely tilt toward making the bill tougher on banks rather than weaker.
See the complete story at: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10696150
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Prodded by national anger at Wall Street, the Senate passed the most far-reaching restraints on big banks since the Great Depression. In its broad sweep, the massive bill would touch Wall Street CEOs and first-time home buyers, high-flying traders and small town lenders.
The 59-39 vote represents an important achievement for President Barack Obama, and comes just two months after his health care overhaul became law. The bill must now be reconciled with a House version that passed in December. The legislation Should reach Obama's desk before the Fourth of July.
The legislation aims to prevent another meltdown of big Wall Street investment banks and the resulting costly bailouts. It calls for new ways to watch for risks in the financial system and makes it easier to liquidate large failing financial firms. It also writes new rules for complex securities blamed for helping precipitate the 2008 economic crisis. It ALSO creates a new consumer protection agency, something republicans had little enthusiasm for.
It would impose new restraints on the largest, most interconnected banks. It would demand proof that borrowers could pay for the simplest of mortgages.
"Our goal is not to punish the banks but to protect the larger economy and the American people from the kind of upheavals that we've seen in the past few years," Obama said earlier Thursday after the Senate cleared a key 60-vote hurdle blocking final action.
Obama said, the fiancial industry had tried to stop the new regulations "with hordes of lobbyists and millions of dollars in ads."
Only two Democrats voted against the bill. Four Republicans broke ranks with their party to support it.
"The decisions we've made will have an impact on the lives of Americans for decades to come," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who voted against the legislation. "Judgment will not be rendered by self-congratulatory press releases, but, rather, by the marketplace. And the marketplace does not give credit for good intentions."
Democrats argued the bill was a potent response to the financial abuses, regulatory weaknesses and consumer misjudgments that plunged the nation deep into recession.
"To Wall Street, it says: No longer can you recklessly gamble away other people's money," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "It says the days of too big to fail are behind us. It says to those who game the system: The game is over."
As House and Senate negotiators meet to work out differences in the bills, the common ground between the two bills will likely tilt toward making the bill tougher on banks rather than weaker.
See the complete story at: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10696150
Subscribe to the Rightardia feed: feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/IGiu
Netcraft rank: 8301 http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://rightardia.blogspot.com
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