Newly-Empowered House Republicans Take Aim at Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Bill

With Republicans taking control of the House of Representatives, much of the Democratic agenda will be challenged in the months ahead. That includes the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation, which Congressional Republicans have already pledged to weaken. The financial reform bill passed in June and brought with it increased consumer protection, trading restrictions for big banks, and tighter regulation of financial products. However, the bill still fell short of dramatic Wall Street reform as the lobbying efforts of large financial institutions eroded the legislation's sharper points. The original bill, for example, would have ended banks' ability to trade derivatives. But the final version was watered down to allow banks to retain certain derivatives trading units to hedge risk.