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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — With any luck, Wall Street can still escape two of the harshest elements of Washington’s reform efforts.

The two measures, included in the Senate bill passed last week, take direct aim at some of the more risky — and profitable — parts of banks’ business.

One proposal would require financial firms to spin off their trading desks that deal in derivatives.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Top Goldman Sachs representatives — including CEO Lloyd Blankfein — attempted to deflect criticism Tuesday as they faced a blistering cross-examination from lawmakers about the firm’s role in the financial crisis.

For more than ten hours, members of a Senate panel skewered current and former executives at Wall Street’s top firm with pointed questions and criticisms in an effort to understand how Goldman had positioned itself just as the nation’s housing market started to come unraveled in 2007.

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) — With SEC charges against Goldman Sachs in the background, Democrats plan to start debating the Wall Street reform bill in the Senate this week, even as Republicans continue to say they oppose the bill.

“Our bill ends too big to fail, bailouts end forever,” said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., in a Monday press conference held to drum up momentum for the bill. “Our bill holds Wall Street accountable, mandates real transparency, so that large banks can’t gamble our money in the shadows of the financial system.”

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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) — The House voted 220-211 on Sunday to make Washington the one-stop-shop for cheap student loans and to boost funding for need-based scholarships.

While approving the overhaul of health care, the House also voted along party lines on another of President Obama’s top priorities: cutting out bank middlemen who collect subsidies to make education loans guaranteed by the federal government.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The House passed a bill Wednesday to move up the effective date for credit card reforms to Dec. 1, from February and August 2010.

In May, President Obama signed into law a credit card reform act to crack down on the way issuers raise fees and interest rates. The reforms were scheduled to roll out in three parts over 12 months.

“Just in time for the holidays, Congress can lock in a ban on interest rate hikes on existing balances, and the tricks that have kept far too many consumers trapped in a never-ending cycle of debt,” said bill co-sponsor Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., in a statement issued late last month.