Obama urges to tighten regulations on Wall Street

U.S. President Barack Obama is urging Democratic and Republican lawmakers to approve a Senate bill to tighten regulations on Wall Street.

Barack Obama, U.S. President, said, "I am actually confident that we can work out an effective, bipartisan package that assures that we never have 'too big to fail' again, that consumers are adequately protected, when it comes to financial instruments, whether its mortgages or credit cards or debit cards, that we have a strong mechanism to regulate derivatives, something that we have not had."

Republicans claim that a provision in the bill would allow regulators to step in to dismantle large, troubled firms.

White House officials have argued that passing a reform bill is crucial to preventing a repeat of the financial crisis that tipped the U.S. economy into its worst recession in decades.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Congressional leaders to discuss Wall Street reform, Wednesday, April 14, 2010, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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