国际英语新闻：U.S. Senate Banking Committee passes financial reform package

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate banking committee on Monday approved a financial reform package aimed at overhauling the country's banking system in a bid to reduce the likelihood of another financial crisis on the level of the Great Recession.

The package, written by Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, was passed by a vote of 13 to 10. All Democrats on the committee voted in favor, while all Republicans against.

The bill will now proceed to the Senate floor, where it will be debated and amended by the full chamber.

Sen. Dodd last week unveiled the bill, saying that the legislation would stop banks from becoming "too big to fail" -- a catchphrase often used to describe financial institutions whose failure could spark widespread economic calamity.

"It's two years ago today that Bear Stearns was unraveling, and six months later it was Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008," said Dodd. "We will stop forever the notion that you're so big as a company that you have that implicit guarantee that the federal taxpayers or the government will bail you out."

According to the bill, the government will have powers to split up firms considered a threat to the economy.