Obama to press Wednesday for financial overhaul

The Obama administration on Wednesday will press congressional leaders during a White House meeting to pass financial overhaul legislation.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

The administration has made enacting new financial regulations a top domestic priority, following the passage of healthcare legislation earlier this year. Republicans unanimously opposed the financial bill that passed the House, and the GOP on Tuesday was more critical of Democratic efforts than in recent weeks.

McConnell said the Democratic bill would "institutionalize" bailouts. The administration and congressional Democrats support legislation that creates a fund paid for by the financial industry that would be used to dissolve failing financial firms.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is also set to meet with Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) to discuss financial legislation. Gregg has recently criticized Democratic efforts to regulate the multitrillion-dollar derivatives market.

The administration has said several times in the last week that it will oppose efforts to weaken legislation through exemptions and carveouts for specific industries.