“I’ve got the power!”

Democrats had a reason to celebrate on Thursday when the much-anticipated House bill on the regulation of the financial system finally passed the House with an early evening procedural vote 238-186. This victory allowed the House floor to start consideration of 36 amendments. The final vote is targeted for Friday. The bill provides regulation on the $450-trillion over-the-counter derivatives market for the first time and gives the government new powers over large banks.

The passing of the financial regulations bill marked a hard-earned victory for Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chief author of the bill, who had called the proposal the most significant increase in regulation of the financial sector since the Great Depression. Although backed by the Obama administration, the bill had met strong resistance from both Republican and Democratic House members. On one hand, Republicans attacked the bill as a measure that would destroy jobs, while setting up government bureaucracies and piling costs on businesses. On the other hand, the Congressional Black Caucus, which has been historically Democratic, threatened to oppose the bill unless more was done to address the economic troubles of minority communities. As a result, provisions were added to redirect $4 billion from the bank bailout fund to provide low-interest loans to unemployed homeowners and assistance for purchase and repair of foreclosed properties. In addition, a bloc of business-oriented House Democrats led by Representative Mellisa Bean from Illionois and her New Democrat Coalition worried that the bill will negatively affect financial institutions. To address their concerns, supporters of the bill including Speaker Nancy Pelosi compromised and revised the bill so that it met the objectives of Ms. Bean and her allies.

This phenomenon of party members threatening to block party proposals shows how unique the U.S. Congress is compared to other national legislatures. In a parliamentary system like the UK, party members are compelled to vote along party lines and members who vote differently risk being kicked out of the party. On the contrary, members of the Congress retain a large degree of autonomy from their party leaders that even a president from their own party can't tell them what to do. They are free to vote their own conscience or that of their constituents. This is because unlike the UK which has a strong party system, the U.S. has a weak two party system that allows Congress members to be responsible to their constituents alone, not to their party. The low level of discipline within the party and the low level of connection to the party all contribute to a weak party system and strong individual members of the Congress. As Smith points out in his American Anomaly which I agree, the U.S. Congress is the most powerful national legislature in the world.