Senate Near Deal on Financial Reform

Is it a bipartisan success, or an unnecessary watering down of important legislation? Key Democratic and Republican senators are near a deal on financial-regulatory reform, sources tell The Wall Street Journal. Rather than create a standalone Consumer Protection Agency, as President Obama wants, the Senate deal would vest consumer-protection powers in the Federal Reserve—an institution some say has neglected consumer protection in the past. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), who has been spearheading the legislation, settled on the Fed after Republicans rejected both an independent agency and incorporating one into the Treasury. The Fed division would be led by a White House appointee, be able to write and enforce rules, and have a separate budget. Will Obama go along? "The president remains strongly committed to an independent agency whose singular focus is advocacy for consumers," an administration official said.