Washington (CNN) - A growing number of Americans appear to support a key provision in the financial reform legislation that Congress has moved a step closer to final passage.
After a grueling 20-hour session, lawmakers early Friday finished melding the House and Senate Wall Street reform bills, bringing Congress closer to passing the most sweeping changes to the financial system since the New Deal.
Hours later, President Barack Obama praised Congress.
The measure includes the "toughest financial reforms" since the Great Depression, said Obama.
Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama praised Congress on Friday for moving closer to final passage of sweeping financial reform legislation. The measure includes the "toughest financial reforms" since the Great Depression, he said. It represents "90 percent of what I proposed when I took up this fight." The compromise plan "will hold Wall Street accountable," he said.
Washington (CNNMoney.com) - After a grueling 20-hour session, lawmakers early Friday finished melding the House and Senate Wall Street reform bills, bringing Congress closer to passing the most sweeping changes to the financial system since the New Deal.
Finishing at 5:39 a.m. ET, 43 lawmakers agreed to send to their respective chambers a final bill that aims to strengthen consumer protection, shine a light on complex financial products, create a new process for taking down giant, failing financial firms, and make them stronger to prevent such failure.
The votes were 20-11 among House negotiators and 7-5 among Senate negotiators, strictly along party lines. The room erupted into claps and hugs when it was all done, with staffers shaking hands and saying, "big bill."
Related: What's in the reform bill?
In one of their final votes, lawmakers renamed the legislation the Dodd-Frank Bill for the lawmakers who led the work on the reforms: Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass. The chamber erupted in cheers on the motion's approval.
"It's the most extraordinary experience," Frank said. "You hate to have the kind of pain that so many people went through in this economic crisis, but it just doubled our resolve to get it done."
Frank and Dodd insisted on pushing forward and wrapping up the negotiations, to ready the bill for final passage by each chamber before Congress adjourns for the Independence Day recess.
Washington (CNNMoney.com) – Lawmakers are closing in on melding two different versions of Wall Street reform.
However, they have yet to tackle one of the last and more controversial measures: Cracking down on the big banks' investment activities and risky bets.
For nearly two weeks, a negotiating committee of 43 lawmakers has been reconciling the House and Senate versions of the most sweeping overhaul of the financial regulatory system since the 1930s.
Lawmakers leading the negotiations insisted that the panel is on track to complete negotiations by Thursday evening, which would prepare bills for final passage by each chamber next week.
However, the group had yet to consider changes cracking down on banks' risky bets, in part because of an apparent stand-off between Democrats in the Senate and House.
Washington (CNNMoney.com) – Lawmakers on Tuesday will consider a deal that would house a powerful new consumer finance regulator inside the Fed.
The Senate and the House passed different versions of Wall Street reform legislation, and last week 43 lawmakers started melding the two bills together.
Lawmakers start meeting at 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday to consider consumer protection issues, as well as how to monitor risk in the financial system and how to fund a new process for taking down failing financial firms.
The reforms aim to strengthen consumer protection, shine a light on complex financial products and create a new process for taking down giant, failing financial firms.
Washington (CNNMoney.com) - With one week down and one week to go on negotiations melding the two Wall Street reform bills, lawmakers have a lot of tough decisions ahead.
House and Senate negotiators had set a goal to finish work on reconciling the bills – aimed at preventing the next financial crisis – before President Obama heads to Canada on Friday for two major summits of world leaders.
So crunch time is on. Negotiators meet again Tuesday, which only leaves them a few days. And they have yet to consider some of the more complicated and controversial issues, such as protecting consumers who buy financial products and shining a light on complex financial contracts.
Additionally, they also have to continue working on issues they broached but didn't resolve over the past week of negotiations, such as differences in creating a panel of regulators tasked with keeping an eye on risk in the financial system.
TOPICS: Financial regulation, health care
Washington (CNN) - Two of President Barack Obama's top legislative initiatives - health care reform and financial regulation - are getting different reactions from the American public, according to a new national poll.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday indicates that a growing number of Americans support increased federal regulation over Wall Street banks and other financial institutions. Six out of ten people questioned in the poll say they favor the legislation, with 38 percent opposed. Support for the bill is up seven points from March, and opposition is down five points.
"Higher-income Americans appear more likely to support the bill than those who make less than $50,000 a year. Stricter financial regulations are popular with Democrats and Independents; a bare majority of Republicans oppose that legislation," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
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Washington (CNNMoney.com) - With Congress perhaps just weeks away from finishing Wall Street reform, the key financial players are just now realizing who's poised to win and lose from the legislation.
The Senate passed its bill last week, and the House finished in December. Only a few questions remain in play, as key lawmakers from both chambers begin the process of reconciling differences in an effort to gain final passage and a presidential signing ceremony by July 4.
Experts believe the biggest losers are Wall Street banks, and the biggest winners are consumers, as well as credit unions and smaller community banks.
"It was quite a success," White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee said in an interview last Friday, heralding gains for consumers. "It's the toughest, strongest consumer protection we've ever had in this country on financial stuff."
Washington (CNNMoney.com) - Now that Wall Street reform has passed both chambers of Congress, the next step for lawmakers is to work out the differences.
Within days, congressional leaders will appoint members of the House and Senate to a special conference committee to meld two bills into one. The first negotiations are set to begin the week of June 7. After they reach agreement, each chamber will vote. The goal is to send final legislation to President Obama before the July 4 recess.
The good news: The two Wall Street reform bills have a lot in common.
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