Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., unveils his proposal on new financial rules during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Monday, March 15, 2010. (AP)

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Wall Street games and risky lending almost killed the American economy. Eighteen months after the onslaught of the financial crisis, the U.S. Senate is stepping toward its regulatory answer.

Senator Chris Dodd yesterday laid out legislation that would bring the biggest overhaul in financial regulation since the Great Depression. Is it enough to straighten up Wall Street and bar another meltdown?

Republicans are sitting on their hands. Democrats are trying to thread public outrage and industry interests.

This hour, On Point: Will the Senate rein in Wall Street?

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Joining us from New York is Roben Farzad, senior writer for BusinessWeek.

Joining us from Washington is Simon Johnson, professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and cofounder of the widely read blog The Baseline Scenario. He was chief economist at the International Monetary Fund from March 2007 to August 2008. His new book, “Thirteen Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown,” will be released March 30.

Also from Washington we’re joined by Douglas Elliott, fellow in economic studies and the initiative on business and public policy at the Brookings Institution. He’s former president of the Center on Federal Financial Institutions, and a former investment banker at JPMorgan Chase & Company.

Senator Chris Dodd wants to be president. He’s already spent 6 years in the U.S. House, and 27 years in the Senate. A Washington outsider he’s not. But in an election where experience might really matter, Dodd says he’s your man.

He draws strength from his family history, stretching back to his dad’s days as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials after World War II. We need to uphold the rule of law, Dodd says, and to restore America’s moral authority.

His candidacy is now a cause. A long shot, maybe. But Chris Dodd is hoping you’ll listen.

This hour, On Point: Chris Dodd, U.S. Senator, presidential candidate.

-Jane Clayson

Guests:

Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), presidential candidate and author of the new book “Letters from Nuremberg: My Father’s Narrative of a Quest for Justice.”