Geithner makes point for financial regulatory reform

Congress needs to act soon on financial reform legislation and shouldn't leave changes up to the banks, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Tuesday. 

The legislation under consideration in the Senate would end taxpayer-financed bailouts and the mentality of 'too big to fail,' Geithner said during The Middle Class Task Force in Milwaukee, Wis.

"This is an important and just cause," he said. "It requires reform. Not small changes at the margin, but comprehensive change, clear rules with teeth, enforced by people who care."

Geithner, who is traveling with Vice President Joe Biden, said the bill would ensure that banks take responsibility for any mistakes they make and wouldn't receive government help if they take on too much risk and fail. 

"These reforms won't satisfy everyone. They won't solve all our problems," he said. "But they will fix what caused this crisis, and they will make future crises less likely and less damaging."

The Senate will take its second cloture vote in as many days, trying to break a logjam on the bill and bring it to the floor for debate.