Financial Regulatory Reform and the 111th Congress
"Financial regulatory reform is being discussed in the 111th Congress, the continuation of a policy debate that began before the September 2008 financial disruption. For example, Treasury
Secretary Henry Paulson issued a blueprint for financial reform in March 2008. In September
2008, after this blueprint was issued but before congressional action, the financial system suffered severe distress as Lehman Brothers and AIG failed. This financial panic accelerated the review of financial regulation and refocused some of the policy debate on areas that experienced the most distress.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner issued a new reform plan in June 2009. House committees
initially reviewed many related bills on an issue-by-issue basis. House Financial Services
Committee Chairman Barney Frank then consolidated proposals into a comprehensive bill, the
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173) and the House passed the
bill on December 11, 2009. H.R. 4173 as passed contains elements of H.R. 1728, H.R. 2571, H.R.
2609, H.R. 3126, H.R. 3269, H.R. 3817, H.R. 3818, H.R. 3890, and H.R. 3996. On March 22,
2010, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee amended and ordered reported
Chairman Christopher Dodd’s Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (RAFSA)..."