Poll: Voters approve of Dodd-Frank bill

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WASHINGTON, July 18 (UPI) -- A sizable majority of U.S. voters approve of the tough government response to the financial industry meltdown, a survey concludes.

Nearly two years after passage of the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul bill that created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and mandated hundreds of regulatory changes, Americans noted as likely to vote in November approved of the reforms by a 53-point margin, Lake Research Partners said Wednesday.

The split among all voters was 73 percent in favor and 20 percent opposed to the reforms, the research group said.

Among Republicans, voters approved of the reforms by a 20-point margin. Among Democrats, the margin was 83 points, while among independents it was 50 points, the survey found.

The poll was sponsored by AARP, the Center for Responsible Lending, Americans for Financial Reform and the National Council of La Raza.

"This poll shows that American voters broadly and strongly support both Wall Street reform and the CFPB," said David Mermin, a partner at Lake Research Partners.

"And they strongly favor specific components of the CFPB. After hearing arguments in support and in opposition, voters across party lines solidly favor the reform law," he said.

A majority of respondents, 60 percent, indicated they favor "more government oversight." In addition, 73 percent indicated support for tougher rules and enforcement for financial firms.

On the flip side, 17 percent indicated that financial firms did not require more oversight.

Saturday is the second anniversary of the controversial Dodd-Frank bill, which became law on July 21, 2010.