On December 11, the House of Representatives approved the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, a plan to significantly tighten federal regulation of the financial sector. Among other things, the plan creates a new agency to oversee consumer lending, establishes new rules for transactions that contributed to the meltdown, and seeks to reduce the threat that one or two huge companies on the verge of collapse could bring down the economy. House Financial Services Committee Release.  Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (HR 4173).