The House passed The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 today.
The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, one of the most sweeping regulatory changes to the financial industry since the Great Depression, passed the House of Representatives today by a final vote of 223-202. On final passage, 27 Democrats voted no along with every Republican voting.
Financial Reform Bill Passes
Cramdown for mortgages was defeated, but one of the major consumer protection measures, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, was retained.
President Obama lauded the passage, saying that passing reforms like this is how "we will build a stronger foundation for our lasting growth."
Full statement, after the fold.
President Obama:
I commend the House of Representatives for passing The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009. This legislation brings us another important step closer to necessary, comprehensive financial reform that will create clear rules of the road, consistent and systematic enforcement of those rules, and a stronger, more stable financial system with better protections for consumers and investors.
The Senate is working on similar legislation, and I urge both houses of Congress to pass this necessary reform as quickly as possible on behalf of the American people. I look forward to signing a strong bill that establishes and enforces clear rules; closes the loopholes that allowed Wall Street firms and other creditors to game the system and evade accountability; protects consumers and investors from predatory lending and deceptive financial practices; and gives the government the necessary tools to prevent any institution from posing a risk to the whole system or making the American taxpayer collateral damage in the event of future turmoil.
The crisis from which we are still recovering was born not only of failure on Wall Street, but also in Washington. We have a responsibility to learn from it, and to put in place reforms that will promote sound investment, encourage real competition and innovation, and prevent such a crisis from ever happening again. That's how we will build a stronger foundation for our lasting growth.
Statement of President Obama
It's incremental change. We need much more, but perhaps it is a start.
And from DDay at Firedoglake:
What we do know is that 33 Democrats voted against the CFPA, 27 voted against the underlying bill, and 71 voted against cramdown. Here’s the list of those Democrats who voted against all three:
Marion Berry (AR), Dan Boren (OK), Rick Boucher (VA), Bobby Bright (AL), Ben Chandler (KY), Henry Cuellar (TX), Lincoln Davis (TN), Parker Griffith (AL), Baron Hill (IN), Eric Massa (NY), Mike McIntyre (NC), Harry Mitchell (AZ), Solomon Ortiz (TX), Mike Ross (AR), Ike Skelton (MO), Zack Space (OH), Harry Teague (NM)
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Democratic Corporate Whore All-Stars!
Financial Reform Bill Passes