Finance regulation reform 101: Sen. Chris Dodd’s bill goes to the senate

The Senate is scheduled to vote today on whether to begin work on the finance regulatory overhaul bill, which President Obama promoted in New York last week. If Democrats have their way, the Senate will proceed to a debate on the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Chris Dodd. Otherwise, the bill, S.3217, will stall and require more negotiations.

While Democrats and Republicans still disagree on particular provisions (such as an industry-funded pool of money to liquidate failing banks in the future), the highlights of the reform effort are not likely to change. We take a look at what’s at stake, how reform could work, and whether or not financial reform is the Democrats’ “new health care” initiative.

Dan Gross, senior editor and finance expert at Newsweek, breaks down the three top points of the reform.