Word: reform
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...regulatory framework for the financial markets is not the kind of politically charged, life-or-death issue that should drive a normally discreet Cabinet member to go on a blue streak in front of dozens of officials. But Geithner and the Obama Administration have more at stake in getting reform pushed through Congress by the end of the year than it may seem...
...major oversight bodies, including the FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the SEC, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the Fed and others. As he talked about the state of the Administration's proposal introduced last spring, Geithner started swearing about the need for regulatory reform to move forward. "There was liberal use of expletives," says an official briefed on the meeting. "Obviously it made some people uncomfortable." (See 25 people to blame for the financial crisis...
Regulatory reform has been a relatively low-profile issue for the Administration, compared with health care, the stimulus bill and cap-and-trade legislation. But substantively, Obama and Geithner's proposal has the potential to dramatically change the way America does business. The two men have proposed creating a consumer-financial-protection agency that would have broad power to police financial firms by, for instance, ensuring they are complying with rules protecting consumers from things like predatory lending and deceptive practices. Geithner also wants to consolidate the work of some of the regulators, in particular giving broad new authority...
...Administration's arguments for the substance of their proposals mask political concerns as well. With Obama's health-care reform and cap-and-trade legislation facing uncertain futures, the White House may need a win on one big issue by December. "What's [the media] going to say about Obama's first year?" says another top regulatory official. "If I were the Administration, I'd want to get to the Rose Garden with something, something that looks significant." (See the top 10 key players in health-care reform...
Insurance companies have always been an effective villain in the health-care-reform debate, but this year the industry thought things might be different. Recognizing the growing sentiment for some kind of change and fully aware that universal coverage would help bulk up their rolls as baby boomers age into the Medicare system, private insurers early on declared their (albeit qualified) support for President Obama's health-reform effort. So when word came last month that the Democrats were drawing up a new public-relations battle plan, the insurance companies were sent reeling - and seemed to be caught off-guard...