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US Senate Approves Sweeping Wall Street Reform Bill
By: Reuters
The Senate approved a sweeping Wall Street reform bill on Thursday night, capping months of wrangling over the biggest overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s.
By a vote of 59 to 39, the Senate handed a victory to President Barack Obama, a champion of tighter rules for banks and capital markets following the 2007-2009 financial crisis that led to a deep recession and massive taxpayer bailouts.
The Senate bill must now be merged with a measure approved in December by the U.S. House of Representatives. Only then could a final package go to Obama to be signed into law, something that analysts said may happen next month.
Changes proposed in both bills—driven by lawmakers eager to look tough on Wall Street ahead of mid-term congressional elections in November—threaten to constrain the banking industry and reduce its profits for years to come.
Obama said the final version of the bill will hold financial firms accountable but not stifle the free market.
"Over the last year, the financial industry has repeatedly tried to end this reform with hordes of lobbyists and millions of dollars in ads, and when they couldn't kill it they tried to water it down .... Today, I think it's fair to say these efforts have failed,'' Obama said.
"We've still go some work to do,'' he added. "The House and the Senate will have to iron out the differences between the two bills. And there's no doubt that during that time the financial industry and their lobbyists will keep on fighting.''
On Wall Street on Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average slid 3.6 percent, hurt by fears of Europe's debt crisis retarding global economic recovery, but also by uncertainty over U.S. financial reform, traders said.
Barney Frank, head of a key House panel, told CNBC it was important to complete reform soon to ease uncertainty. He said Obama could sign a bill into law well before July 4. |
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发表于 2010-5-20 07:38 PM
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