This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. In the midst of the worst economic crisis affecting financial markets globally in more than 75 years, fed. officials have taken unprecedented steps to stem the unraveling of the financial services sector. While these actions aimed to provide relief in the short term, the severity of the crisis has shown clearly that in the long term, the current U.S. financial regulatory system was in need of significant reform. This testimony discusses: (1) how regulation has evolved and the significant limitations and gaps in the existing regulatory system; (2) the experiences of countries with other types of varying regulatory structures during the financial crisis; and (3) how certain aspects of proposals would reform the U.S. regulatory system. Charts and tables.