Senate Passes Wall Street Regulation Bill

Prodded by national anger at Wall Street, the Senate on Thursday 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. The measure was his next top legislative priority after signing his health care bill into law on March 23, and he views today's development as an important political win, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller. The bill must now be reconciled with a House version that passed in December. A key House negotiator predicted the legislation would reach Obama's desk before the Fourth of July.

The legislation aims to prevent a recurrence of the near-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, and it creates a new consumer protection agency.

Obama Savors Chance at Another Legislative Win

It would impose new restraints on the largest, most interconnected banks and 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.

The financial industry, Obama said, 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.

Twice the Senate had to beat back efforts by Republicans to delay the bill before achieving final passage.

"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."

[johneustor]

Finanace Bill? And what deos this do for us that are still WITHIOUT WORK? so back to the JOB outlook....that we lack and that we need to "earn a living" or die...uhmm..

I was told a few weeks ago that the entire group of developers and administrators I work with will be let go by 6/24/2010. So my 18 month contract with this large Insurance company (Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield) located in Newark NJ will be cut short by about a year. They claim it was a decision made by upper management to outsource all of our work and they blame it on the economy. This will leave me without a job in very tough time again, when work is scarce and life...miserable....

While the outsourcing will be provided by IBM, it will be done off-shore. Which means my job is going over-seas...and then they wonder why the "economy" is doing so bad...if we don't have jobs or money to buy your products, we won't....and even though you take my job over-seas and pay them my salary...guess what, they won't buy your products either...because they are over-seas....so any cost savings will be eliminated by the fact that we are without jobs and cannot afford your products.

And the irony of all this is that its business as usual for this supposedly non-profit corporation which had to cut\outsource it's resources and to cut cost so that upper management can continue non-profiting ...ya..sure..

I blame it entirely on the fact that HBCBS wants to go public, from its non-profit status. This is causing upper management to demand their managers cut corners, and costs wherever they can and whenever possible. At the cost of human beings loosing their jobs to an overseas-cheep-labor-money savings-sweat shop operation that is making their cost of living rise in their country, which will eventually bring on the same destructive economic sink hole that we are facing in this country, to their country. So it becomes a double edged sword slicing the head off human beings in both countries so that upper management doesn't have to cut their profits and bonuses (4+ million this year paid out to the HBCBS CEO) Way to go IBM & HBCBS!!

Blue Cross boss took home $8.7 million salary as premiums rose in '09
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20105170330

So back to the grind of trying to find another job so I can "Earn a Living"...instead of dying....trying.....in this miserable economy...in this miserable world where Money is so much more important then Human Life....

http://www.myspace.com/jaychijken

[jxknowles]

Thank you for sharing your story. I worked in a simlar environment for a few years and didn't sleep much at night. I hope you can report better personal news at some point. You seem like an intelligent, talented person. I know it's maddening at times, but don't give up.

[VoteThemOut2010]

Fannie and Freddie are free to continue business as usual, that's not "Comprehensive Reform". They were at least 50% at fault in the financial mess. It's just furthering the socialist agenda. The best financial regulation of all would be to LET THEM FAIL! But that would prove Capitalism works... can't have that. I'm trying to stop doing business with big banks, because I know they are crooks. Now, as with all Socialist plans, I don't have the choice to not do business, because "my gonvernment" will make me pay one way or another. This is almost as sweet a deal for bankers as "Health Care Reform" is for Insurance Companies and Health Care providers.

[ibsteve2u]

"Legislation Has Farthest-Reaching Restraints on Big Banks Since the Great Depression"

Me, I would have said:

"Legislation Has Farthest-Reaching Restraints on Big Banks Since the Last Time America Learned that Banks Are Willing to Destroy America to Satiate Their Greed"

[pubsrtoast]

"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."

--------------------------------------------------------------------
The marketplace does not give credit for good intentions? How does that moron think we got where we are today? A bunch of people with "good intentions" and no documentation applied for credit and the markets gave it to them.

[1American]

Senate Passes Wall Street Regulation Bill
(And the DOW drops 376.36 Points) Just a few more "regulations" and the "progressives" in D.C. will make the "crash" of "29" look like a Sunday School Picnic. Stick around folks the fun's about to start!

[afmcalax]

They need to go further. They need to break of Bank of America; Chase, Citi, and Wells Fargo. They need to break up Goldman Sachs and prohibit any of their employees from working the government sector. They need to provide real penalties and jail time next time corporate executives cause world-wide recession. They need to provide for take back of bonuses and salary for non-existant profits. They need to tax the perks at their real value. Finally they need to be able to eliminate excessive pensions and exit bonuses for failed CEOs. This is a strat but Wall Street needs to be reigned in further.

[saturday8pm]

afm, you got my vote. Couldn't get over the smirking face of that shaver who pulled in 45m a year. No, not Fab. Another punk. He thought the hearings were a joke. Somebody oughta remind that rummy if this happened in China, people would simply disappear.

[eightsigma]

This bill is a good start. I look forward to reversing more of the failed policies of Reaganism. Globalism would be my preferred target.

[RobAla]

Globalism? Think about it. If the entire world was ruled by one government, you wouldn't have many choices would you? Take a look at history, massive empires didn't do much for human rights.

[pubsrtoast]

I believe he is talking about eliminating the global economy and considering that it has been more harmful than helpful to the American worker and their standard of living, I agree.

[payasyougo]

Now there will just be more government employees to not recognize the signals.

[realist51]

the goverment regulations namely glass/stegall kept the wolf of wall st a t bay for over 60 years once the repubs repealled that legislation and clinton signed it it was all down hill for us. the consistant results of self regulation are quite evident. a failed finacial system, gulf full of oil, poision in toys and food, to constantly say that the goverment is a failure is to say americas a failure the people are suppose to be the goverment. but we have let corperate america be the goverment for to long this is just the start of bringing the hammer down, more incumbents both republican and dem. will come down in nov

[RobAla]

What Shelby said is a true statement. Time will tell. Stocks dropped yesterday, and we will also have to see if the passage of this bill contributed to it. I have not yet read the bill, but I certainly hope it did not leave the American taxpayer on the hook for risky Wall Street behavior. I have little faith in federal government fiscal reform, when these same leaders have overspent to the tune of creating a $14 trillion national debt. These people have not shown fiscal responsibility.

[brianbwb2011]

"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."

What Shelby's little fascist brain cannot comprehend is that this is precisely the reason why the marketplace should not be allowed to have influence in matters of governance for the common good.

[brianbwb2011]

"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."

What Shelby's little fascist brain cannot comprehend is that this is precisely the reason why the marketplace should not be allowed to have influence in matters of governance for the common good.