The House has approved a sweeping overhaul of financial regulation following over three weeks of conference committee negotiations. The 237-to-192 vote came as the Senate postponed its vote on the measure until at least mid-July, setting the stage for a final showdown over the bill after the July 4th recess. The measure would create a consumer protection agency within the Federal Reserve, impose new limits on the derivatives market, and restrict trading by banks for their own benefit. But it also lacks several initial provisions that were removed under intense Wall Street lobbying. At a speech in Wisconsin shortly before the vote, President Obama criticized Republicans for opposing financial reform. Obama singled out recent comments by House Republican leader John Boehner.

President Obama: “The leader of the Republicans in the House said that financial reform was like — and I’m quoting here — 'using a nuclear weapon to target an ant.' That’s what he said. He compared the financial crisis to an ant. This is the same financial crisis that led to the loss of nearly eight million jobs, same crisis that cost people their homes, their lives savings. He can’t be that out of touch with the struggles of American families.”