President Obama praised lawmakers today for developing a new set of financial regulations he hopes to sign into law by July 4.

"We are poised to pass the toughest financial reform since the ones we created in the aftermath of the Great Depression," Obama said at the White House as he prepared to leave for the G-20 summit in Canada.

The new rules are designed to "hold Wall Street accountable" and prevent the kind of financial meltdown that crippled the economy in 2008, Obama said.

The package includes further restrictions on too-risky investments by banks, a new consumer protection agency to oversee the activities of credit card companies and financial firms and an end to the concept known as "too big to fail."

This would be the second major piece of legislation to be signed by Obama this year, following the big health care overhaul that became law in March. The administration also hopes to sign a big energy bill by the end of the year, though that is still under negotiation in Congress.

Obama, whose Democratic Party faces tough sledding in this November's congressional elections, touted other accomplishments during his five-minute speech. "Over the last 17 months," he said, "we've passed an Economic Recovery Act, health insurance reform, education reform, and we are now on the brink of passing Wall Street reform."

House and Senate negotiators wrapped up their work on new financial regulations at 5:39 this morning. Obama praised the "incredibly hard work" of the two key Democrats: Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

Global financial reform is also a topic of the G-20 summit this weekend in Canada, Obama said.

"I'll work with other nations not only to coordinate our financial reform efforts, but to promote global economic growth while ensuring that each nation can pursue a path that is sustainable for its own public finances," the president said.

The president said he believes in investment and a dynamic economy, "but we've all seen what happens when there is inadequate oversight and insufficient transparency on Wall Street."

(Posted by David Jackson)