US House passes landmark financial reform bill

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a landmark overhaul of financial regulations but the Senate put off action until mid-July, delaying a final victory for President Barack Obama.

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a landmark overhaul of financial regulations but the Senate put off action until mid-July, delaying a final victory for President Barack Obama.

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

The US president is all but certain to get the measure on his desk eventually, analysts said, but Democrats’ hopes of sending him a bill to sign into law by July 4 were dashed. The death of Democratic Senator Robert Byrd has complicated efforts to round up the votes needed in the Senate.

The bill would impose tighter regulations on financial firms and reduce their profits. It would boost consumer protections, force banks to reduce risky trading and investing activities and set up a new government process for liquidating troubled financial firms.

Wall Street and Republicans have said the bill ducks the question of how to handle troubled mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee half of all US mortgages. Both have received $145 billion in taxpayer bailouts since being seized by the government in September 2008. Their regulator has said he does not know how much more taxpayer support they will need.

Even after Obama signs the reform bill into law, its final impact will remain unclear for several years while regulators work to put it into effect.