Members of a new inter-agency council, set up under 2010's Dodd-Frank reforms, told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that they will take more time to figure out how to select banks, insurers and hedge funds for extra-strict government policing.

Republicans have pushed to delay and weaken Dodd-Frank, concerned that a regulatory over-reach will restrict credit and harm U.S. competitiveness. But Democrats have defended the need to prevent the excessive risk-taking linked to the 2007-2009 financial crisis, setting the tone for a debate that will continue up to and beyond the 2012 presidential election.

Read the full Reuters story, “Regulators assure Congress on Wall Street crackdown.”