By Stephanie Miceli - July 21, 2010
Whether it's "election-year politics"
or sweeping reform, President Obama will sign into law later this morning the
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Upon last Thursday's Senate passage of
financial regulation, Mr. Obama said the reform "puts in place the strongest
consumer protections in history" and will create an agency to enforce those
protections.
"These protections will be enforced by
a new consumer watchdog with just one job: looking out for people -- not big
banks, not lenders, not investment houses in the financial system," said
the president.
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep.
Barney Frank, D-Mass, the two committee chairmen after whom the bill is named,
are expected to be featured as the president signs the bill in the Ronald
Reagan Building.
Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren
is also expected to attend the signing ceremony. Warren, who is being
considered as director to the independent consumer protection bureau, is a
consumer advocate who was among the first to propose the idea of a new agency
for financial consumers. She is also head of the Congressional Oversight Panel
for the government's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, known as TARP.
The president has faced criticism for his
intentions to create the agency, one of the bill's highlights. Republicans
argue it constitutes excessive government influence over private business.
While Obama wanted the law to pass with
the memory of the 2008 financial crisis still fresh, many of the law's would-be
provisions won't take effect for at least a year. Regulators will use that time
to construct new rules.
The law will give the government new
powers to break up companies that threaten the economy. Borrowers will receive
protection from hidden fees and abusive terms, though they must also prove that
they can repay their loans. Large, failing financial establishments would also
be liquidated.
(Photo
Courtesy: AP Images)
