WASHINGTON, DC - After the U.S. Senate voted 60-40 in favor of moving toward final passage of Wall Street reform, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a senior member of the Banking Committee, issued the following statement:

"Today's vote brings us one step closer to tough, new rules for Wall Street and strong new protections for consumers and taxpayers.

"These reforms will help strengthen the economy in the short term while doing more than ever before to prevent future systemic failures.

"Our current financial regulations are outdated. They were written when Wall Street traders could make thousands of transactions in a week. Today, with the advent of new technologies, new financial instruments, and new trading platforms, they can make millions of transactions in a second.

"The bill before us represents a fundamental shift in how we protect consumers from abuses by credit card companies, finance companies, and payday lenders. And it will ensure that traders and executives, not taxpayers, pay for Wall Street's mistakes.

"It includes a tough, new consumer watchdog to prevent American families from being treated unfairly. And it sets clear, consistent standards for financial institutions, and provides new teeth to hold banks and financial firms accountable if they break the rules.

"Reforming Wall Street is a smart investment that will strengthen our economy. I am pleased we got bipartisan support for a strong bill in the Senate, and as we reconcile this bill with the House my goal will be to ensure the final version stays strong. I hope we can swiftly get it to President Obama to be signed into law so we can get new rules of the road in place to protect consumers and taxpayers."

Reed crafted several key provisions of S. 3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act, including:

Creating a new Office of Financial Research (OFR) that would help provide early warning to regulators about financial problems, and allow regulators to act on that information and keep pace with new products being engineered on Wall Street.

Strengthening consumer protections by creating a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and within it a Office of Service Member Affairs that can monitor and respond to complaints from military families.

Bringing accountability and transparency to the derivatives markets by overturning the law that prevented regulators from taking any action to regulate this market. It also incorporates strong new rules Senator Reed championed to ensure transparency and stability in these markets.

Closing dangerous loopholes and gaps in financial oversight by requiring advisers to hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Improving the SEC's oversight of credit rating agencies and improving accountability and accuracy within the credit rating industry through a strong new liability provision that allows investors to take action when a rating agency knowingly or recklessly fails to review key information in developing the rating.

Ensuring accountability of the Federal Reserve system by requiring the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to be Presidentially-appointed and Senate confirmed. The bill also includes Senator Reed's proposal to create a new position of Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Board that will be accountable for the Board's oversight responsibilities.