In response to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Congress passed a major financial reform bill known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The law, signed by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010, made significant changes to the structure of financial regulation in the United States. It gave increased regulatory responsibility and power to the Federal Reserve Board; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to rein in abuse of households in financial markets, established the Financial Stability Oversight Council to provide macroprudential supervision of the entire U.S. financial system, and significantly overhauled the rules of the road for mortgage lending. The implementation of these mandates has produced substantial changes in the operation of our financial markets and in the activities of regulators.
The Center for American Progress Action Fund is pleased to host an extended conversation about the Dodd-Frank Act, its overall implications for financial market performance and financial stability, and the ongoing debate on whether more change is needed. The event will feature a discussion with congressional leaders who were involved in the creation of the Dodd-Frank Act and who have monitored its implementation for the past five years, and then a panel of experts will discuss how the law has worked and where to go from here.