House Votes in Favor of Financial Overhaul Bill, Senate Stalls Till After July 4

Today the House of Representatives voted 237-192 (largely along party lines) in favor of the most comprehensive financial reform legislation in generations: the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.

While an enormous forward step for the bill's backers -- including Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and President Barack Obama -- today's vote remains just shy of a true political and legislative victory.

That's because the Senate elected to delay its hearing on the bill until after the Fourth of July holiday recess, citing an inability to drum up the 60 votes necessary for passage at this time, even though the bill is partially based on one passed by the Senate last month.

Democrats are the most gung-ho about the Wall Street power-cribbing legislation, as only three Republican House members broke their party's otherwise unified opposition to allow for the bill's passage. To pass the Senate, at least one Republican would need to step up in favor of it. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has expressed her "inclination" to do so, but remains noncommittal, USA Today's On Politics blog reports.

"Never again, never again should Wall Street greed bring such suffering to our country," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., according to The Associated Press via MSNBC.

"This bill is a massive intrusion of the federal government into the lives of every American. ... It is the financial services equivalent of Obamacare," countered Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., former chairman of the Banking Oversight Committee, according to On Politics.

If voted into law, the bill would expand government oversight of the economy by:

Creating a new consumer protection agency
Expanding the powers of the Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission
Allowing regulators to shutter, dismember and sell off failing firms (to avoid another taxpayer bailout)
Clamping down on banks' ability to invest and trade in their own accounts (the Volcker Rule, named for former Fed chairman Paul Volcker) (via The New York Times)

... among numerous other tweaks to the nation's financial system.

The bill follows a broad plan proposed by President Obama in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. After the bill's successful passage in the House, the president issued on the White House website a statement that reads, in part:

America's 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. The comprehensive law the House passed today achieves this goal, and I look forward to passage in the Senate and signing the bill into law.

The Senate is expected to pick up the bill shortly after the weeklong Fourth of July recess.