President Barack Obama says consumers would lose if Republicans regain power in Congress and try to roll back his hard-won Wall Street overhaul.

He says the GOP's promised repeal of the law would mean the return of a financial system whose near-collapse led to the worst recession since the Depression.

"Without sound oversight and commonsense protections for consumers, the whole economy is put in jeopardy," Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address. "That doesn't serve Main Street. That doesn't serve Wall Street. That doesn't serve anyone."

The law passed despite nearly unanimous Republican opposition. It sought to rein in a financial system that had sped ahead of outdated rules, allowing banks, traders and others to take increased risks. More...

UPDATE: The White House announced Thursday afternoon that President Obama would not sign a bill that some consumer advocates worried would make it more difficult for homeowners to fight fraudulent foreclosures.

The White House noted that the bill was designed to ease restrictions on interstate commerce. "While we share this goal, we believe it is necessary to have further deliberations about the intended and unintended impact of this bill on consumer protections, including those for mortgages, before this bill can be finalized."

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EARLIER:

The White House is taking a careful look at legislation recently passed by Congress with little notice that would require courts to recognize notarizations from out-of-state, which some consumer advocates say would make it more difficult to fight bogus foreclosures by banks.

"There were a series of meeting on that this morning here," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who added the White House would have a more definitive statement later on Thursday. "It is something that, as you said, there has been a lot of news on, the processing of documentation, the resulting impact on foreclosures, and that is being evaluated....In general, there is concern, ultimately, about the situation."

Max Gardner, a foreclosure defense attorney, said the timing of the bill was suspicious, considering fraudulent notarization of bogus foreclosure affidavits is at the heart of a scandal that has prompted the nation's largest banks to pause foreclosures in 23 states.

"The timing is just a little curious to me that all of a sudden you can't get anything through the Senate at all and then all a sudden on a voice vote," Gardner said. "This was first introduced in the House in 2007."

The legislation, titled the "Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act," would "require any Federal or State court to recognize any notarization made by a notary public licensed by a State other than the State where the court is located when such notarization occurs in or affects interstate commerce." The bill would also require courts to recognize electronic notarizations.

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"The thing that concerns me about the bill is that the provisions in it that allow for digital notarization by electronic means," said Gardner, "which implies that anyone with the appropriate software could notarize a digital document or image of a document, which would allow someone to notarize a document without seeing someone execute the document or doing the things a notary is supposed to do. In my mind that would lead a broad exception for more fraudulent practices."

Ira Rheingold, director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, told HuffPost he wasn't sure he agreed the bill was so problematic. "Just because you get a lawful notarization of a bunch of lies doesn't change your ability to challenge an affidavit as a bunch of lies."

The legislation passed the Senate without debate on Sept. 27 following a "unanimous consent" request from Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.). Casey's office told HuffPost that the senator made the request on party leadership's behalf. "He had nothing to do with the bill himself," a spokesman said.

Reuters reported that, with the help of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), "Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy pressed to have the bill rushed through the special procedure, after Leahy 'constituents' called him and pressed for passage." Previous versions of the bill have died in the Judiciary Committee after being passed by the House.

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who has blogged about notarization problems, told HuffPost she also considered the timing of the legislation suspicious, coming in the midst of a series of announcements by banks that foreclosure procedures are under review. "It's almost like H.R. 3808 was a trap door."

The bill's sponsor in the House, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), was surprised by the speedy passage of the bill and the intensely negative reaction it's gotten. "There is absolutely no connection whatsoever between Congressman Aderholt's legislation and the recent foreclosure documentation problem," said a spokesman in an email to HuffPost. "Congressman Aderholt has been pushing this bill since April of 2005 when he first introduced it in Congress. Obviously, there was no controversy regarding foreclosure documents at that time.

"The Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act will improve interstate commerce by requiring that lawfully notarized documents be recognized across state lines. The law, once enacted, will strengthen consumer protections by requiring identification of notaries by means of seal and in rendering electronic documents tamper resistant."

Austan Goolsbee reproduces an easy-to-follow chart showing the differences between continuing the Bush tax cuts and the proposed Obama tax plan. Goolsbee was on The Rachel Maddow Show last month as she first showed the chart from Ezra Klein at the Washington Post. The figures came from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Goolsbee's appearance can be seen in this post at Crooks & Liars, seen here.

Introducing White House Whiteboard. In this first edition, Austan Goolsbee, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers here at the White House, tackles the tax cut fight and what it means that Congressional Republicans are "holding middle class tax cuts hostage" as the President has said.

Are you tired of the President Obama backlash?

Does the Beck, Limbaugh, Fox news get you down?

Do you need a break from all the right wing propaganda?

Then join Seegar and Pat Swanson & 35 others on a bus trip to the One Nation March in Washington DC  Oct. 2. If you follow Ed Schultz on MSNBC TV, you know he is promoting this rally to counter one promoted by Beck.  Beck claimed 300,000 attended his event although other crowd estimates were as low as 90,000.  Schultz claims he can really get 300,000 progressives!!! If you want to know more about the March click on the following link.

Ed Shultz invites you to come to Washington with the One Nation March.

Several organizations are arranging buses to bring progressives to Washington including the NAACP of Okaloosa County.  They have a tour bus reserved from Eglin Air Force base and room accommodations at the Crown Plaza in Washington.  The plan is to assemble at the Wal-Mart in Crestview on Thursday Midnight September 30. We will motor through the night and arrive at the Hotel late afternoon on Friday.  This will allow for a relaxing dinner and a good nights rest before the bus takes us to the Rally.  Immediately following the Rally we will get back on the bus for the return trip, again driving through the night, expecting to be in Crestview about 6 am Sunday.  Rooms are reserved for double occupancy and the cost per person for bus and room is $210.  Your food expense will be in addition.

So come join us.  Call (850) 301-2095 for more information. You can reserve your seat with an email to Sabu Williams.  You can sign up and pay by going to the Okaloosa NAACP website, using Pay Pal or a Credit Card.  Once at the site, click on "Donation".  You will be able to select the Washington March and fill in the blanks.

You can let the Swansons know you will be joining them by calling (850) 936-8707 or click Here to send an email.

When you hear about the new health reform law these days, too much talk is focused on the political.
What I've found is that most Americans just want to know how this new law helps their families stay healthy -- and how it reduces their costs.
The first thing I tell people who ask about the Affordable Care Act is that, for moms like me, it makes our lives easier. It gives families control over their own care. And it gives us the comfort of knowing that our insurance will be there when we need it most -- especially if we get sick. Then I tell them that it gets better, but there's a lot to know. To help, this administration has set up HealthCare.gov, where folks can see customized information about how care will improve for their families.
So much of what makes this law great is its emphasis on preventive care -- right now, too many people aren't getting the check-ups or the screenings they need to stay healthy. Twelve percent of kids haven't seen a doctor in the past year. And 59 million adults -- and 11 million children -- depend on an insurance plan that does not cover basic immunizations.
Health reform is changing that. Under this new law, all new private plans will provide basic preventive services -- things like childhood immunizations and checkups, mammograms, colonoscopies, cervical screenings, and treatment for high blood pressure -- absolutely free of charge. No copay. No deductible. No co-insurance needed.
And, on HealthCare.gov, you can not only learn what preventive steps will help keep your family healthy, but also what insurance coverage options are available based on your needs.
A focus on prevention will help us to combat diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure -- chronic illnesses that right now lead to seven of ten deaths in the United States and 75 percent of our national health care costs.
And it will help us tackle an issue that is dear to my heart -- childhood obesity. As some of you know one of my top priorities as First Lady is the Let's Move! campaign, where we have made it our goal to put a stop to the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so children who are born today grow up at a healthy weight.
Each of us needs to take responsibility for our own health and the health of our families, and the new health reform law can help. That's why I'm writing today -- to make sure you and Americans across the country know how their health plans are getting better day by day under reform.
Please visit HealthCare.gov and find out more about your care:
www.healthcare.gov
Thank you,
Michelle Obama