This week, the House of Representatives passed “The Financial Institutional Bankruptcy Act of 2014,” a bill allowing financial institutions, and in some cases, the Federal Reserve, to voluntarily begin the bankruptcy process.

The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), was passed with bipartisan support.

The bill outlines a “single point of entry” approach enabling a holding company to begin the bankruptcy process while allowing subsidiaries to stay out of it. This bill is one of many attempts to prevent taxpayer bailouts of financial institutions and promote confidence in the financial marketplace since the financial crisis in 2008.