The Senate passed the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 Thursday May 20. Providing the most far reaching financial regulations since the Great Depression, the bill creates a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, establishes oversight of the vast derivatives market, and gives the government authority to wind down large banks that threaten the financial system. The bill also gives a council of regulators authority to monitor risks to the financial system, imposes new restrictions on credit rating agencies, and gives shareholders a say in corporate affairs. The final vote of 59 to 39 came just a few hours after Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts switched his vote to make the 60 needed to limit debate and move to a vote on the bill. Four Republicans voted in favor of the bill, and two Democrats opposed it.
Obama hailed the breakthrough during a 7 minute talk to the preess in the Rose Garden after the Senate had cleared the way for passage of the bill. The financial industry, Obama commented, had tried to stop the new regulations "with hordes of lobbyists and millions of dollars in ads . . . . 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 hailed the breakthrough during a 7 minute talk to the preess in the Rose Garden after the Senate had cleared the way for passage of the bill. The financial industry, Obama commented, had tried to stop the new regulations "with hordes of lobbyists and millions of dollars in ads . . . . 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."
Listen to President Obama's Talk
Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken Led Momentum to Strenghten the Wall Street Reform Bill
Robert Kuttner, coeditor of the American Prospect and fellow at DEMOS, explains how serious financial reform gained momentum in recent weeks, led by freshman senators such as Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken. "Thus, by a wide margin of 64-35 . . . the Senate passed Senator Al Franken's surprise amendment to reform corruption in credit rating agencies by having financial clients allocated randomly rather than by paying agencies to give good ratings to junk." Another 
important amendment led by Amy Klobuchar requires strong underwriting standards on all mortgages, and prohibits kickbacks to mortgage companies who peddle high-risk, high-cost products. Both amendments were neither in the Dodd bill nor the White House bill, and both passed by wide margins with Republican support. Read Kuttner's interesting analysis of the process of strengthening the Senate bill, including the important role of issue organizations, and of additional changes needed in the financial sector that go beyond the Wall Street Reform Bill:For information on other amendments Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken proposed to strengthen the financial reform legislation, see the article in MinnPost by Derek Wallbank:
