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Summary
The US Senate passed the most far-reaching overhaul of how the American government regulates banks and Wall Street since the Great Depression. Prompted by public anger, the legislation is aimed at preventing the meltdown of financial institutions that plunged the US and much of the world into a deep recession and the resulting costly bailouts. The Senate passed the bill on a 59-39 vote, giving President Barack Obama a major policy victory, coming just two months after his health care overhaul became law. The bill calls for new ways to watch for risks in the financial system and makes it easier to liquidate large failing financial firms. It also writes new rules for complex securities blamed for helping precipitate the 2008 economic crisis, and it creates a new consumer protection agency. It would impose new restraints on the largest, most interconnected banks and demand proof that borrowers could pay for the simplest of mortgages.
