The U.S. Senate is preparing to scale back Dodd-Frank—sweeping banking regulations passed after the 2008 financial crisis—and more than a dozen Democrats are ready to give Republicans the votes they need to weaken President Barack Obama’s largest legislative achievements, The Washington Post reports.
The core of the new bill exempts about two dozen financial companies with assets between $50 billion and $250 billion from the highest levels of scrutiny by the Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank.
Supporters argue that the legislation would bring much-needed relief to midsize and regional banks that were treated like their much larger counterparts under the 2010 legislation.The Senate is slated to take an initial procedural vote this week to move the measure forward, and if it eventually becomes law, it would be the most substantial weakening of Dodd-Frank since it was passed.
