RJ and Makay

As part of their opposition to the Dodd-Frank financial reform law enacted last July in response to the financial crisis, Congressional Republicans plan to introduce four bills Wednesday that would repeal or amend parts of the new law.

"It's the first direct assault,'' a congressional aide says. ''Up until now it's been about trying to deprive the agencies of what they need to implement Dodd-Frank.''

The federal government's Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) drew nine main conclusions in its recent "Financial Crisis Inquiry Report." Perhaps the most compelling one: the financial crisis was avoidable.

The FCIC pulls no punches on this point. "The captains of finance and the public stewards of our financial system ignored warnings and failed to question, understand, and manage evolving risks within a system essential to the well-being of the American public," its report says. "[A] crisis of this magnitude need not have occurred."