The Volcker Rule will suffer death by committee

From Sen Dodd's senate financial reform bill:

1 SEC. 989. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY
2 ON PROPRIETARY TRADING.
3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
4 (1) the term ‘‘covered entity’’ means—
5 (A) an insured depository institution, an
6 affiliate of an insured depository institution, a
7 bank holding company, a financial holding com8
pany, or a subsidiary of a bank holding com9
pany or a financial holding company, as those
10 terms are defined in the Bank Holding Com11
pany Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.); and
12 (B) any other entity, as the Comptroller
13 General of the United States may determine;
14 and
15 (2) the term ‘‘proprietary trading’’ means the
16 act of a covered entity investing as a principal in se
17curities, commodities, derivatives, hedge funds, pri
18vate equity firms, or such other financial products or
19 entities as the Comptroller General may determine.
20 (b) STUDY.—
21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of
22 the United States shall conduct a study regarding
23 the risks and conflicts associated with proprietary
24 trading by and within covered entities, including an
25 evaluation of—
1 (A) whether proprietary trading presents a
2 material systemic risk to the stability of the
3 United States financial system, and if so, the
4 costs and benefits of options for mitigating such
5 systemic risk;
6 (B) whether proprietary trading presents
7 material risks to the safety and soundness of
8 the covered entities that engage in such activi9
ties, and if so, the costs and benefits of options
10 for mitigating such risks;
11 (C) whether proprietary trading present
12 material conflicts of interest between covered
13 entities that engage in proprietary trading and
14 the clients of the institutions who use the firm
15 to execute trades or who rely on the firm to
16 manage assets, and if so, the costs and benefits
17 of options for mitigating such conflicts of inter18
est;
19 (D) whether adequate disclosure regarding
20 the risks and conflicts of proprietary trading is
21 provided to the depositors, trading and asset
22 management clients, and investors of covered
23 entities that engage in proprietary trading, and
24 if not, the costs and benefits of options for the
25 improvement of such disclosure; and
1 (E) whether the banking, securities, and
2 commodities regulators of institutions that en3
gage in proprietary trading have in place ade4
quate systems and controls to monitor and con5
tain any risks and conflicts of interest related
6 to proprietary trading, and if not, the costs and
7 benefits of options for the improvement of such
8 systems and controls.
9 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the
10 study required under paragraph (1), the Comptroller
11 General shall consider—
12 (A) current practice relating to proprietary
13 trading;
14 (B) the advisability of a complete ban on
15 proprietary trading;
16 (C) limitations on the scope of activities
17 that covered entities may engage in with respect
18 to proprietary trading;
19 (D) the advisability of additional capital
20 requirements for covered entities that engage in
21 proprietary trading;
22 (E) enhanced restrictions on transactions
23 between affiliates related to proprietary trading;
24 (F) enhanced accounting disclosures relat25
ing to proprietary trading;
1 (G) enhanced public disclosure relating to
2 proprietary trading; and
3 (H) any other options the Comptroller
4 General deems appropriate.
5 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 15
6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp7
troller General shall submit a report to Congress on the
8 results of the study conducted under subsection (b).

No BBs will be "decimated" or "broken up". Prop trading desks are here to stay. In 15 months, the Volcker Rule won't be at the top of anyone's agenda, especially since the GOP will have much stronger representation. All this hyperventilation about the end of trading is downright stupid.