In what was part of the President's promise to prevent any future economic collapse of the size and scope the country is still struggling to deal with, the House of Representatives passed their version of an overhaul of the financial regulatory system.  Of significant note are the newly described mechanisms by which a government agency, like the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, can legally dissolve the largest of financial institutions.

The reason this is significant should be obvious when looking at behemoths like AIG, who were in fact, considered too big to fail.  The FDIC currently has the legal mechanisms available to take over smaller banks and other financial institutions without disrupting or imperilling assets, but the same is not true for the truly huge financial heavyweights.  To address the problem, the new legislation establishes new powers for the FDIC and a newly formed Council of Inspectors General on Financial Oversight to oversee any future AIG's or Banks of America.

Additional Acts and provisions amend the rules governing derivatives and swaps, ending a long period of being exempt from regulation at all.  The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 - Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009 passed without a single Republican vote 223 to 202.