House approves Wall Street reform

The effort of US President Barack Obama to make Wall Street accountable and prevent the collapse of financial institutions in the future inched a step closer as the House of Representatives passed the sweeping Wall Street Reform Bill.

The sweeping Wall Street Reform Bill that was passed by the House of Representatives by vote 237-192, largely along party lines now goes to the Senate; which faces the prospect of filibuster by the Republicans.

The Democrats exuded confidence that they would be able to get the bill through the Senate as well. Obama said the House vote 'puts us on the cusp of passing a law' that will give consumers greater protection and safeguard US economy against future financial crises.

"It has been a long fight against the defenders of the status quo on Wall Street, but Thursday's vote is a victory for every American who has been affected by the recklessness and irresponsibility that led to the loss of millions of jobs and trillions in wealth," Obama said.

"It will put in place the strongest consumer financial protections in history, curbing abuses by banks, mortgage and credit card companies and giving their customers information they need to make responsible financial decisions," he said.

The Wall Street Reform Bill will make US' financial system more transparent, so that complex transactions that escaped scrutiny in the past would now be done in the light of day.

And it will put an end to the idea that any financial firm is too big to fail, and therefore entitled to taxpayer bailouts, he asserted.

Noting that the law also will put in place the Volcker rule so that banks don't put the savings of millions of Americans at risk, Obama said US' economic future depends on a thriving financial sector to provide the capital families require to meet their needs and businesses must have to grow and hire.

"But, as we have seen, it also must operate within a sensible framework of rules and regulations, adequate to hold financial institutions accountable," he said.

Earlier speaking on the floor of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this comprehensive and far-reaching legislation injects transparency and accountability as it lowers leverage into the financial system run amuck under the Republicans' reckless economic policies.

"This legislation makes common-sense reforms that end the era of taxpayer bailouts and 'too-big-to-fail' financial firms. It establishes a new, independent agency solely dedicated to protecting Americans from anti-consumer abuses," she said.