House GOP majority aiming to soften financial overhaul law; White House issues veto threat

The newly bulked-up Republican majority in the House is aiming to soften the bite of legislation that grew out of the 2008 financial crisis and put banks and Wall Street under the most sweeping rules since the Great Depression.

The House was voting Tuesday on a bill that would alter sections of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul. Most notably, the Republican-led bill would give U.S. banks another two years — until 2019 — to ensure that their holdings of certain complex and risky securities don't put them afoul of a new banking rule.

The bill would revise the so-called Volcker rule, a key part of the financial overhaul law, which would limit banks' riskiest trading bets. That kind of risk-taking on Wall Street helped trigger the 2008 crisis.