Market-Regulation Bill No Longer on Fast Track: Frank

Once on the fast track to President Obama’s desk, a bill that would grant the government powers to place large companies into receivership has been pushed to the slow lane, Rep. Barney Frank tells the Wall Street Journal. The bill’s complexity, and a slow-moving Senate, led the Financial Services Committee chairman to package it with broader regulatory legislation pegged for later this year.

Obama has personally pushed for these powers, pressuring Congress to get the bill through quickly, in part to show that he is acting swiftly to overhaul the regulatory framework. But House leaders say a regulatory body is needed first to determine what companies can be placed in receivership, and funding must be secured to finance the winding-down of large, financially complex companies. (More Barack Obama stories.)