Obama Cheers Wall Street Reforms Video

Senate Passes Wall Street Reform With 3 Republicans Minus 1 Democrat

Congress finalized sweeping financial overhaul legislation on Thursday, handing President Obama a major legislative victory heading into the midterm elections.

The Senate voted 60-39 to approve the 2,315-page bill after cutting off debate on the measure. The House already passed the measure.
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Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Scott Brown (Mass.) joined all but one Democrat in support of the legislation. Sen. Russ Feingold (Wis.) was the lone Democrat opposed to the measure, which he said was not tough enough on the industry. The Senate earlier Thursday approved 60-38 a procedural motion to end debate on the legislation. The Hill

Funny, John Boehner is already talking about repealing the bill:

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday said the new regulations should be repealed.

“I think it ought to be repealed,” Boehner said at his weekly press conference. ”There are commonsense things that you should do to plug the holes in the regulatory system that were there, and to bring more transparency to financial transactions, because transparency is like sunlight. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

Boehner on Our Ant Problem

If the republicans wanted to fix the problem--any problem--then it seems they should stop throwing rocks from the sidelines. They ought to do something. They ought to accept that Obama is president and work with him.

Obama Urges Completion of Wall Street Reforms

The financial reforms are expected by July 4. This is Obama's weekly address:

Barney Frank on Wall Street Reform

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Fourth of July Wall Street Reform

House and Senate have finally agreed on financial reforms and have come up with a bill that is expected to be on Obama's desk by the Fourth of July:

Congress early Friday moved to the brink of passing a landmark overhaul of Wall Street, which would hand President Barack Obama a major victory ahead of the midterm elections.

A 43-member conference of House and Senate lawmakers finished the bill just after 5:30 a.m., after a marathon, all-night session of dealmaking, lobbying and scores of votes. The 2,000-page bill aims to prevent taxpayer-funded bailouts and revamp regulation of mortgages, credit cards, broad financial system risks and the $600 trillion derivatives market.
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Frank, chairman of the conference committee, said the bill was tougher in the end than he once thought was possible to pass through Congress.

"You hate to have the kind of pain people had during the crisis, but it redoubled our resolve," Frank said. "We have done something that has been badly needed and sorely needed for some time," Dodd said.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the bill, "represents the most sweeping set of financial reforms since those that followed the Great Depression."
Read more at The HIll

Obama Wants Financial Reform by July 4

But first, Congressional negotiators must resolve substantial differences between the bills, which together total more than 3,000 pages and amount to the most extensive rewriting of financial regulations since the Great Depression. The process will begin formally on Thursday with a meeting of more than 20 lawmakers from both parties and both houses of Congress.

“I think it is very important for the stability of the economy for this to get done,” said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, a Democrat and the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. He said that Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, had urged him to produce a consensus report by June 24, when Mr. Obama is expected to leave for Toronto.

A White House spokeswoman, Amy Brundage, said over the weekend that Mr. Obama was looking forward to discussing the financial overhaul at the G-20 meeting and reiterated that “he hopes to sign financial reform into law by July Fourth.” Read more at NYT

Obama Gives Update on Wall Street Reform

Update: Financial reform passes the Senate. Now the bills have to be merged. ETA to Obama's desk is July. That's two major pieces of legislation done under the Obama administration.

Updated with full video

Update: Obama essentially said he's glad to see reform moving forward but there's more work to do. The bill has to be reconciled with the House bill.

More fun times!

Republicans Scott Brown, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe voted with the democrats to move the bill forward, while democrats Maria Cantwell and Russ Feingold voted with the republicans.

This is a live stream scheduled for 4:20 pm eastern time. This is the latest:

The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to end debate on the biggest overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s, allowing a final vote on the bill later on Thursday or on Friday. More at MSNBC

Obama Explains Wall Street Reform

In Obama's weekly address, he explains the consumer protections in the financial reform bill.

Obama Cooperative Banker

There's at least one banker working with the Obama administration on Wall Street reforms, Brian Moynihan, ceo of Bank of America:

Moynihan, in an April 30 interview with Fox Business Network, said there is a “tough” tone in Washington, though Obama had done “a great job” and is “working hard to try to figure out a solution.”
That praise stands in contrast with comments by JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s CEO, Jamie Dimon. He has visited the White House at least four times in the past seven months, records show, and was largely supportive of the administration’s efforts to rescue the economy last year. As the regulatory overhaul was introduced, he took a more combative stance. BW

Shelby Amendment Weakens Wall Street Regulations Bill

Update: Shelby's amendment is defeated 61-38, according to Politico.

The White House says Richard Shelby's new amendment to the financial reform bill would weaken consumer protection oversight.

A new amendment put forward by Senator Shelby on consumer financial protection would not just weaken the bill, it would weaken the status quo.

This new proposal keeps consumer protection oversight under banks' prudential supervisors, whose primary responsibility is safety and soundness of the bank, not consumer welfare. The record on this arrangement is unacceptable. WH

Harry Reid said the Senate will be considering more than 100 amendments, starting with Shelby's, over the next couple of days:

Senators have offered more than 130 amendments to the broad Wall Street reform bill.

Reid said the Senate would immediately consider an amendment offered by Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Banking Committee, and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).

Reid said the chamber would then consider an amendment sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would require the Federal Reserve to submit to an audit by the Government Accountability Office.
The Hill

McConnell argues the democrats' Consumer Protection Bureau would be bad for small businesses:

The Shelby-McConnell amendment would establish a Division of Consumer Financial Protection within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, replacing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that Democrats want to establish at the Federal Reserve.

During floor remarks, McConnell argued the Consumer Protection Bureau that Democrats favor at the Fed would ensnare a range of businesses in federal bureaucracy.

“We received a letter yesterday from groups representing hundreds of thousands of businesses — from florists to orthodontists to builders to car dealers — all concerned about the potential impact this new agency would have,” McConnell said. The Hill

The Senate has passed one amendment today. The amendment, which passed with flying colors, ensures that community banks pay a smaller share of FDIC insurance relative to big banks.
Update: Obama comes out strong against Shelby's amendment:

Nearly two years after the collapse on Wall Street that cost over 8 million jobs on Main Street, the American people deserve strong, tough reform that will help prevent another financial crisis. The bill before the Senate demands accountability from Wall Street and includes the strongest consumer protections ever.

Unfortunately, throughout this debate, there have been partisan attempts to obstruct progress and weaken reform. Today, the Senate is considering a Republican amendment that will gut consumer protections and is worse than the status quo. I will not allow amendments like this one written by Wall Street’s lobbyists to pass for reform. This amendment will significantly weaken consumer protection oversight, includes dangerous carve outs for payday lenders, debt collectors, and other financial services operations, and hurts the ability of community and local banks to compete by creating an unlevel playing field with their non-bank competitors.

As I have said throughout this process, I want to continue to work with Democrats and Republicans because protecting the American people should not be a partisan issue. But we must work together in good faith. Alternatives that gut consumer protections and do nothing to empower the American people by cracking down on unfair and predatory practices are unacceptable, and I urge the Senate to vote no on weakening consumer protections and instead stand with the American people.

Warren Excited About Wall Street Regulations Bill

Elizabeth Warren likes the financial reform progress, which is BIG. She also says she's surprised by Warren Buffett's defense of Goldman Sachs, an illustration of how financial interests can distort perceptions.

Berkshire loaned $5 billion to Goldman in September of 2008 and receives a dividend of 10 percent a year. Berkshire also got warrants to buy Goldman shares at $115 each. Their value fluctuates with Goldman's common stock price. The loan dividends are not affected by the stock price. CNBC

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Obama's Wall Street Reform Speech in Quincy Video

Obama stopped in Quincy, Illinois yesterday.

Republicans Block Wall Street Reform Bill Third Time

Update: republicans agree to move ahead, after getting assurances from democrats that their needs will be met.

Democrat Ben Nelson voted with republicans. Andrea Mitchell asks Claire McCaskill if Nelson is protecting Berkshire Hathaway. Mitchell says the republican concern is that amendments will be rammed through and they won't have leverage. My guess as to why republicans are blocking debate is that the republicans don't want it known that they're fighting for more relaxed reform than the democrats. The democrats know this and that's why they keep voting. The NYT says republican stalling plays well with their base. They hope to stall it until Memorial Day

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Obama Speaks in Missouri at POET April 28

Updated with video:

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Obama will speak on the economy in Macon, Missouri at POET Biorefining 2 pm eastern.

At 5 pm, he'll speak in Quincy, Illinois on the need to pass Wall Street reforms.

This is live audio. Look for a live stream at msnbc.com or cbsnews.com.

Obama arrives back at the White House late evening.

Republicans Block Wall Street Reform Bill

Senate Republicans on Monday blocked a Democratic effort to overhaul the financial system and crack down on Wall Street.

One Senate Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), joined 40 Republicans in voting against the bill. Nelson had been pushing for a provision backed by Warren Buffett that would have largely exempted existing derivatives contracts from the bill's new rules.

Democrats seized on the party-line, 57-41 test vote to portray Republicans as standing up for Wall Street banks that helped push the economy into the worst recession since the Great Depression. The Hill

Republicans blocked the democrats in moving the bill to the floor for debate. But no doubt, the bill is still getting done. Richard Shelby and Chris Dodd, who are working on the bill say so. These are just political games. This was expected, given that the republicans are the party of no. It just means that there probably will be further negotiations on the bill, something that the democrats were opposed to. Now the democrats can say that republicans stand with Wall Street and republicans can say the bill wasn't good enough for them. All fun and games, puffery and foolery if you ask me. Obama's tweet:

I am deeply disappointed that Senate Republicans voted in a block today against allowing a public debate on Wall Street reform to begin.

John Harwood has it right:

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Dodd and Shelby on Meet the Press April 24

Chris Dodd and Richard Shelby were getting on so well, David Gregory didn't know what to do with himself. The bottom line is financial reform legislation is coming and it's coming soon.

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Most of the roundtable agrees that Arizona's new immigration law is a bad one and John McCain's shame:

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The roundtable on financial reforms and why I respect David Brooks:

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Obama's Speech on Wall Street Reform Live Stream April 22

Essentially Obama said all of America depends on the health and the integrity of Wall Street. His speech could be summed up with this line: "Unless your business model depends on bilking people, there is little to fear." UNLESS.

Here is the full video. Transcript here:

Obama's Schedule April 22 Includes Wall Street and Earth

Update: Miss the live stream? See Obama's speech here.

While Joe Biden is sitting with the Ladies of The View today, Obama will be speechifying at Cooper Union college at 11:55 am eastern. Live stream here or at msnbc.com. Obama will also talk about our lovely planet today.

Obama's Interview With John Harwood April 21 Video

Obama said he didn't know SEC was going to file charges against Goldman Sachs. There were no winks or nods. No discussions at all. "We found out about it on CNBC," he said.  Full interview:

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