"A US House of Representatives committee has approved key regulatory legislation intended to curb the harmful economic effects of financial services institutions deemed "too big to fail." The bill, which is meant to keep the collapse of large institutions from provoking system-wide crises, passed in the Financial Services Committee by 31 votes to 27 on Wednesday. The Financial Stability Improvement Act is part of the vast financial regulatory reform being championed by President Barack Obama. The legislation proposes to identify and subject "risky" firms to more scrutiny and regulation, specifically creating an inter-agency oversight council that would identify and monitor financial firms and activities." - Steven Perez from Bookmarklet