Dodd: Next Recession Will Show if My Bank Bill Works

WASHINGTON — A sweeping crackdown on banking and high-finance broke through a Senate Republican blockade Thursday, setting the stage for Congress to send the massive regulation overhaul to President Barack Obama.

The vote to end debate was 60-38, the minimum needed to overcome a filibuster. But that ensured that the bill has the votes for final passage, which could come later Thursday.

At a thud-inducing 2,300 pages, the legislation is designed to rein in big banks and protect consumers, with the aim of averting a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis. Its ultimate impact, however, will depend on the government regulators assigned to implement it.

The legislation is the result of a year's worth of partisan struggles and delicate cross-party courtships that at times promised more votes but in the end delivered barely enough.

Only three Senate Republicans voted with 55 Democrats and two independents to end debate on the bill Thursday.

Named after Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd and House financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, the legislation ends a trend to ease regulations and instead clamps down on the financial industry in ways unseen since the Great Depression.